Second Chances
by Arbil
Summary: A post AC fic. Kadaj and gang survived the fight, and now live with Cloud and his friends. They begin to learn what freedom means. However, Sephiroth reappears to warn them of danger. Now, they must band together to defeat the threat. Shounen ai.
1. Daze

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

_

* * *

_

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_ break_

_

* * *

_**Chapter One: Daze  
**

Glass tinkling, water running…A dark-haired young woman stood at the sink, enjoying the quiet rhythm of peace. Presently, she glanced at the clock on the wall opposite her; it was almost eight-thirty in the morning. Any time soon…

A low rumbling issued from somewhere above her.

"5, 4, 3, 2…" whispered the woman under her breath. "1."

"Tifa!"

A group of children, approximately six of them, came bounding noisily down the stairs. Tifa smiled readily.

"Good morning. That was excellent timing."

The children chimed a 'good morning' together and clambered to one round table. Soon, Tifa was busy preparing breakfast for the children and a few others who would be coming down in a little while.

"Good morning, Tifa!"

"Good morning, Marlene. Where's Barret?"

The six-year-old girl seated herself between the other kids.

"Papa's still sleeping."

"Well, after all the work he's been doing, I suppose we'll just let him sleep in," said the martial artist as she served some toast to Marlene.

From behind her, there was the dull thud of boots against wood and Tifa turned around to find herself face to face with a young man sporting blond hair.

"Morning, Cloud! Coffee?"

"Thanks," replied the ex-SOLDIER quietly.

While waiting for his coffee, Cloud checked his phone for messages. He found one. It was from the Wutaian ninja, Yuffie. She called to tell him that she would be dropping by soon. The strong scent of freshly brewed coffee assaulted his nose as Tifa placed a cup of coffee and a plate of toast and eggs in front of him.

"You've had two phone calls this morning. One's a delivery request, the other one's from Reno. They're expecting you to call back by noon."

Cloud nodded minutely as he sipped the hot beverage. Life had returned to normal two weeks after the Reunion. Well, almost. Tifa prepared three breakfast trays and made her way upstairs. Balancing the trays expertly on one hand, she gently knocked on the door of the last room. When no one answered, she twisted the doorknob slowly.

The room was dimly lit. Tifa placed the trays onto the window ledge and parted the curtains to admit a little sunlight. She turned around to look at the now brighter room. Three figures lay in individual beds, their silver hair glinting from the sunlight. The youngest-looking was closest to her, while a short-haired young man slept closest to the door. Slowly, silently, she picked her way across the room and approached the short-haired figure.

"Loz…" she called gently. "Loz…wake up…"

The young man stirred. Tifa preferred to rouse the eldest of these three siblings first, after a rather unpleasant experience trying to wake Yazoo up. The long-haired youth almost sliced her head off with his gunblade.

"Tifa…that you?" slurred the groggy young man.

"Yes, I've brought breakfast. Can you please wake Yazoo?"

In a matter of minutes, Yazoo had been roused from his sleep and the two brothers took turns cleaning up in the bathroom. Tifa's thoughts wandered as she set out the trays for them. It was hard to believe that a couple of weeks ago, they were the worst of enemies.

To Cloud's (and everyone else's) surprise, the three scraped it through alive, but the youngest, Kadaj, had been weakening ever since they got him here. There were plenty of problems when they first woke up to strange surroundings, as expected. Yazoo mistrusted them and still did by the looks of things, even if a little. Loz had mellowed out a bit, and did his best to ease things out between them. He was more concerned with Kadaj's condition. The young swordsman was slightly delirious and had been burning with a fever since two days back. It was unavoidable. He was, after all, Jenova's body of thoughts. With her death, it was only a matter of time before he disappeared, as with what will happen to Yazoo and Loz.

A soft click nudged her out of her reverie; Yazoo was staring at her in a somewhat wary manner. Then he went to Kadaj's bedside. Tifa thought it best to leave now and gestured to Loz the medicine she had deposited on one of the trays. He nodded gratefully.

As soon as she was downstairs, Tifa was met with Marlene's queries.

"Is Kadaj-niichan better today?"

"I don't know, Marlene. He was still sleeping when I went up."

Suddenly, they heard a loud racket from above them. Cloud and Tifa looked at each other for confirmation and rushed upstairs. Marlene quickly ran after them.

In the room, Yazoo and Loz were trying to hold down a thrashing and screaming Kadaj. He was in one of his nightmares.

"Kadaj! Kadaj, calm down!" Yazoo was on the verge of panic.

Loz too was shouting for him to wake up. Marlene moved closer to Tifa, slightly frightened at the sight.

"Niisan!" screamed Kadaj.

At this, Cloud moved towards the struggling trio. Loz saw him and released Kadaj. The blond gripped his shoulders, a difficult task as the younger boy was putting up a fight. Yazoo watched desperately as Cloud wrestled with his brother.

"I'm here, I'm here…Calm down, Kadaj. Nothing's going to hurt you," whispered the blond.

Kadaj's form relaxed visibly but his faced was scrunched up, as though in pain. After a while, his breathing evened out and he appeared to have fallen back to sleep. Cloud placed a hand on his sweaty forehead. It was still hot.

"He's still burning."

"I'll go get a wet towel." The martial artist volunteered and hurried off.

Yazoo was still slightly shaken from the experience, and required guidance to a seat. This was the third time it had happened. None of them could understand why Kadaj was having such disturbing nightmares, or why he would be screaming about 'Mother', that is, Jenova or why only Cloud could calm him. When Tifa returned with a wet towel and a glass of water, Yazoo pressed it to his forehead and continued to rouse the boy.

"Kadaj…"He patted his brother's shoulder lightly.

The boy's eyelids fluttered open, jade green eyes peering at him wearily.

"Yazoo…"

"It's time to get up."

"But I'm tired…" groaned the younger boy.

"You can go back to sleep after having a bit of food and medicine, okay?" coaxed Yazoo gently.

Kadaj nodded. Feeling as though they were intruding upon a private moment, Cloud and Tifa made their exit quietly.

"Wha' was that racket?"

They turned to find Barret standing outside his bedroom. The pyjamas did not match the machine gun he had attached on his right arm. Marlene ran up to him to hug her father.

"Mornin' baby!" Barret beamed. Tifa regained her composure.

"Why don't you wash up? I'll have breakfast ready for you downstairs."

* * *

Voices whispered around him, swirling like the darkness tantalising, luring him. How long had he been struggling? He couldn't remember. His limbs were heavy, as though someone had pumped lead into them. The voices cast tentative touches, pulling, calling. But still he swam on, driven by an urgency that he couldn't quite grip. There was something very important that he had to do, but what was it? His mind was in disarray, scattered thoughts he couldn't recollect.

The darkness was gradually receding, a sign that he was approaching his destination. His lungs burned for air, and he propelled faster. The hazy outline of the moon above him grew more and more defined until he burst through the surface. He took greedy gulps of precious oxygen and waded to the shore. By now, he was so exhausted he could barely move. With gargantuan effort, he hauled himself out of the water. Having achieved at least one task, his body finally gave in to fatigue and his eyelids began to close. Just before he fell into unconsciousness, he saw a flash of red and a low voice calling,

"Sephiroth…

* * *

Cloud stood staring at the familiar building of Shin Ra Company. It was slightly run down, but no doubt still usable. He stepped into the building. The reception hall was deserted save for a young man standing by the elevator. He tapped his baton lightly on his shoulder, fiery red hair unkempt.

"Yo! Took ya long enough!" waved the man. Reno waited for Cloud to come over before pushing the button for the elevator.

"Got the place up and runnin' faster that we expected! Good thing the power's still on." Reno produced a security card, and soon they were moving up in the elevator. Cloud let him chatter on about Shin Ra's latest development without really listening; he was just glad he wouldn't have to climb the countless flights of stairs like he did two years ago.

Reno led him into a large room; Cloud saw it that it was the president's office. A blond figure was seated at the table, his side flanked by two other people Cloud recognised as Elena and Tseng. The figure rose to greet him.

"Glad you could make it, Cloud." He extended a hand.

"Let's not waste time, Rufus. Get straight to the point."

Rufus shrugged and sat down. "Alright. I heard that your friend has found an oil mine."

"What's that to you?" countered the ex-SOLDIER coldly.

"Well, now that we can no longer use Mako as a power source, Shin Ra is looking for new…investment, shall we say?"

Cloud narrowed his blue eyes.

"Your friend's active search has yielded results, most obviously, but he must lack the necessary equipment to continue further, isn't that so?"

"And you are proposing…?" asked Cloud. He could smell something suspicious here.

"A deal, Cloud. A partnership, if you will. You share with us the information about the oil mines, and we provide the equipment you will need."

"Why don't you speak to Barret yourself? This has nothing to do with me."

"I'm afraid that he may not wish to be on speaking terms with us," Rufus commented somewhat lamentably. "Think about it, Cloud. We change to oil, and we won't hurt the planet anymore. People in Midgard will have better lives, and you will receive your share of profit, just name it. Everybody wins, Cloud."

Cloud contemplated for a moment. "The decision is not mine to make."

He turned to leave.

"Wait. Will you not at least persuade your friend to listen to us?"

Cloud's figure paused for a moment before walking on. Reno moved to catch up with him, once more leading the blond into the elevator. Rufus smirked satisfactorily.

* * *

A/N: That's the first chapter. Everything seems to be going well, so far. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up soon. Please review and thank you. 


	2. Rain

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_ break_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Two: Rain**

"So ya tellin' me to go 'n work with tha' rat? You've gotta to be kidding!" If it was another person, Barret's volume might have made his ears ring, but Cloud was used to the man's explosive voice.

"I'm only relaying whatever he said, Barret. You are the only one who can decide."

The conversation grinded to a halt when they heard strange sounds from outside. Cloud passed Barret a questioning glance to which he replied with a shrug.

"Sounds like a vacuum cleaner or sumthin'…" commented Barret.

A second later, however, the door burst open and Cloud was tackled to the ground before he could react. The blond landed heavily on the floor, the wind knocked out of him. He shook his head slightly to clear the spinning sensation and saw the huge grin right above his face.

"Yuffie!" The Wutaian's grin only grew wider. She hopped off, letting Cloud regain his breath.

"Gotcha this time!" giggled the young girl.

"Whatcha doin' here, kid?" Barret patted the ninja on the head.

"I thought I left a message to say that I was visiting."

"Yes, but how did you get here?" Yuffie pointed outside.

"Cid flew me here." She blanched. "It's horrible, riding in that thing, but it's the fastest way to get here."

Just as she spoke, the pilot kicked the door open, striding in with his spear. He didn't get very far, however, as he was soon hit on the head by a steel tray whizzing through the air.

"Cid, don't you know how to use doors? If you damage my property I'll have you replace it immediately!" Tifa stood at the bottom of the staircase, hands at her hips.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard ya! Sheesh, women…" complained Cid, rubbing the sore bruise.

Tifa snapped at him to shut up and turned to Cloud. The blond almost stepped back; Tifa could be rather threatening when she was angry. "They need you upstairs." She said briefly. Cloud nodded curtly.

When he opened the door to the three siblings' room, the first thing he noticed was that Kadaj was not screaming. Yazoo looked up from his side, a worried frown marring his beautiful features.

"He said he wanted to see you," said the long-haired man.

"He's been a little delusional after we woke him up." Loz tried to explain. The ex-SOLDIER approached Kadaj and soon, caught hold of some of the things he was muttering.

"Where's Mother? Yazoo, where's Mother?" The younger boy had a glazed look in his eyes. He did not appear to be fully aware of his surroundings.

"I want to see niisan…Niisan…" Cloud knelt by the bed. Kadaj slowly turned his head.

"Kadaj…" called Cloud softly.

"Niisan…I want to see Mother…Where is she? You know, don't you?"

"She's not here anymore, Kadaj."

"But, I saw her! I really did!" Kadaj took hold of Cloud's arm, his emerald orbs glinting hysterically.

"You were dreaming. You have a fever and you're delirious right now."

"No! I know I saw her, I can't be wrong! You're lying! You're-"

A sound slap rang shrilly through the silence. Kadaj's cheek was red where Yazoo's hand had struck. Loz's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Ya-Yazoo…"

"Will you stop acting like a five-year-old and face it? Mother is no longer alive! It's because she's dead that you're…" Yazoo looked away, unable to bring himself to say that ominous word. Instead, he stormed out of the room. Loz looked frantically between Yazoo and Kadaj, and went after the former.

* * *

Downstairs, the small party were interrupted in their conversation when Yazoo came down the stairs with long, angry strides, followed by an anxious Loz. They stiffened when they saw him coming at them, but he strode past them and slammed the door behind him.

"Loz, what happened?" asked Tifa. The silver-haired man looked troubled.

"There was an argument…"

"Cloud and Yazoo?" It was not uncommon for these two to get into screaming matches, especially when Yazoo was getting edgier by the day.

"No, Yazoo and Kadaj, actually." The martial artist was truly surprised.

"Kadaj? But I thought…"

Yuffie made way for the man and Loz deposited himself into one of the chairs.

"What's up with Kadaj?" asked the curious Wutaian. Barret gave her a short account of Kadaj's 'attacks'. Loz recounted what had happened in the room just now to them.

"I've never seen him so angry."

"I think he's more worried than angry," Tifa said gently. "He must be concerned about Kadaj. That's why he lost his temper."

"Hehe, he's got a kinda girly temper." Yuffie giggled all of a sudden.

Everyone looked at her strangely.

"I mean, I thought only girls would slam doors and stuff when you're angry. I've never seen a guy throw tantrums before."

Loz couldn't help but grin, "Yeah, well, I always thought he was a little high-maintenance."

Yuffie laughed openly at that. The tension between them rose and dissipated, and everyone laughed with her. Tifa looked gratefully at Yuffie. The girl had managed to put them at ease with each other without even trying.

"Uh, so…where's Cloud?" asked the ninja.

Loz pointed up. "He's with Kadaj right now."

* * *

Cloud sat on the bed opposite Kadaj's. The silver-haired boy had not uttered a sound since Yazoo's outburst. He was just sitting up in his bed, gazing vacantly at his hands. Cloud did nothing but observe, resting his chin on his clasped hands. For a long time, there was silence, brooding yet not uncomfortable. Cloud found no need for words, and perhaps it was better to say nothing.

"Is Mother…" Cloud lifted his head and brought his hands to rest on his knees.

"Is Mother really…gone?" asked the quiet, subdued voice from the bed.

"I don't know." It was true. Cloud was not sure, could not be sure if Jenova was really dead. It had seemed infinitely impossible to kill Jenova, which was so similar to a higher being. The absence of Jenova's head planted doubt in his mind but Kadaj's deterioration indicated otherwise.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Not a hint of bitterness in Kadaj's voice, just a trace of resignation.

Yes. Yes, she was dead. That was what Cloud wanted to believe. Jenova couldn't possibly be killed…but the proof was right before his eyes. Kadaj's statement only reinforced his belief. Yes, Jenova was dead. He believed so. Kadaj could derive as much as an answer from Cloud's silence. He turned his head to the window. The soft pattering of rain filled the stillness.

"It's raining…"

Cloud looked at the reflection in the window and saw the clear stream flowing down its cheeks.

"Aa." He answered, because he understood.

* * *

The rain drenched him through and through as he was not in his usual leather outfit, but Yazoo was only vaguely aware of the stinging cold. He wandered through Midgard, lost in his own thoughts, letting his legs bring him to wherever he was going. He was suddenly jerked out of his trance when someone bumped into him.

"Hey, watch where you're-oh, it's you!" Reno exclaimed as he peered through the curtain of rain.

"What're you doing standing in the rain? Trying to catch pneumonia?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed hold of Yazoo's wrist and started running. Reno did not stop until they were both safely in the elevator in the Shin Ra building. The elevator stopped at the employee's quarters and Reno led Yazoo into his room.

"Here, get out of those! You're soaked like a wet sponge!" said Reno as he threw a towel at Yazoo. He ransacked his wardrobe in search for something dry to change into. When he turned around, Yazoo was still standing in his wet clothes, looking at the towel as though he didn't quite know what to do with it.

"What's wrong with that fellow?" muttered Reno under his breath. He took the towel from Yazoo and without warning, began to dry Yazoo's hair. Yazoo yelped at the rough treatment on his hair.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"What do _you_ think you're doing? I don't want anybody to freeze to death in my room!"

"No one asked you to bring me here! And as if I would die from the cold!"

"What! I was trying to be nice and the only thing I get in return is a pretty boy shooting his mouth off!"

"Well, at least I'm not a whining little dog!"

"Why you!" growled the redhead. "Your arrogant face really pisses me off!"

Yazoo's smirk only grew larger. Reno gritted his teeth, fuming. Then, he sighed and shrugged.

"At least that's better than your mopey look just now."

Yazoo was taken aback. Reno threw the towel back to him.

"You were looking so damn miserable. Whatever it is, better pull yourself together, man!"

Yazoo looked at the towel for a while, and then began to dry his hair. Under the towel, a small grateful smile graced his face.

* * *

A/N: Hum, I hope chapter 2 is okay. It should be pretty clear who I'm planning to pair up by now. Well, please review! Thank you! 


	3. Rebirth

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

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* * *

_

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_ break_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Three: Rebirth**

When Yazoo returned to Seventh Heaven (properly dried and equipped with an umbrella) later during the night, the first thing he thought was that he should have come back when everyone was sleeping. Tifa stood looming at the doorway, arms crossed and silent. The next minute, however, was not very quiet.

"Where have you been, young man?" Yazoo backed up, alarmed at the outburst. "Do you know what time it is?"

"None of your god damn business!" Yazoo retorted.

"I make it my business when someone's living under my roof!"

"We didn't ask for it! _You_ were the one who dragged us here!"

"You make it sound like we're the ones forcing you to stay!"

"Enough!"

Tifa and Yazoo turned to the staircase to find Cloud and Loz there.

"Kadaj just drifted off. At this rate, you'll wake everyone." Cloud said in a low voice.

Loz approached the two.

"Look, Yazoo. If they didn't take us in, we'd be dead."

Yazoo stared at Loz with disbelief etched all over his face.

"Loz! You're siding with them?"

"I'm not siding with anyone. All I'm trying to say is…I'm thankful that I'm alive. And for that, I'm grateful to them."

"Like they really cared about us…" sneered Yazoo.

"We do. We were worried when you just walked out like that and disappeared for hours." This time, Tifa was the one to speak up. She was no longer talking with a raised voice, but in a very gentle, almost motherly manner. Yazoo shook his head and laughed humourlessly.

"Have you forgotten? We tried to kill you!"

"What's past is past. The moment we brought you here, you were no longer our enemy." Tifa countered.

The long-haired youth bit his lower lip. He was running out of arguments.

"We're not even human."

The statement was too true to be turned, and Tifa and Loz were rendered silent.

"You care about Kadaj…" interjected Cloud. "That makes you human."

Yazoo was speechless. Here was the very man they were sent out to kill, the man who knew that they were but Jenova's puppets. Cloud had not only forgiven them, he _accepted_ them. The blond was telling him that he was like them, human…not monster…_equal_.

Yazoo cast his eyes down. Cloud and Tifa radiated with sincerity. The trust, the firm belief that he too, had earned a right to be human, made a hot feeling rise to his chest. The feeling spread all the way to his eyes and Yazoo pinched them shut to prevent himself from crying. He turned his face away. Was this how it feels to be acknowledged and forgiven?

"It is all right to cry," coaxed Tifa. "It's a strength to be able to cry, when you need to."

They spent a while looking at Yazoo's shuddering back. None said a word, for tears were necessary for him to be reborn…as a human being.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry. He felt, rather faintly, as though he was lying on a lumpy pile of clothes. He closed his eyes, and took deep breaths. Slowly, his senses returned to him and he could smell the mustiness in the air, hear the tiny crackling of a fire. He opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. It appeared to be an old and abandoned shack.

Sephiroth felt a familiar bristling of caution. He had no idea where he was, no inkling who brought him here. Whoever it was, it couldn't be good. He caught sight of his coat, folded neatly on top of a rather dusty table. He needed to get out, now. Sephiroth pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Suddenly, the world seemed to be tilting and Sephiroth was attacked by a wave of nausea. From the unnatural heaving of his breath and the burning feeling of his body, Sephiroth could tell that he was having a fever. He staggered to his feet and grabbed the coat. Clumsily, he pulled it on and stumbled out of the door.

* * *

"You're joking." Yazoo had a look of utmost dismay on his face. Cloud shook his head. Kadaj and Loz had their backs turned to them, their bodies trembling. Yazoo glanced down at the object of his distress and looked at Cloud again. The blond merely shrugged.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to wear this-this…hideous, repulsive…thing!"

Kadaj and Loz burst into fits of laughter as Yazoo threw down the outfit he was holding, fuming. Even Cloud couldn't hide the twitching of his lips. Of course, they understood the reason for his grief. Tifa had just given him a waitress costume.

"Aw, come on. I'm sure it'll look good on you!" wheezed Loz.

"Yeah, Tifa must love you, Yazoo. We only got the standard vest and pants." Kadaj wiped tears out of his eyes.

"I swear, one day, I'll kill that woman." Yazoo glared at the wall, imagining that it was Tifa and he was burning holes into her head.

"Well, we _obviously_ couldn't carry the costume well. I mean, I'll never pass for a girl!" said Loz. Kadaj promptly began laughing again. Yazoo looked scandalised. Then, he turned to the door.

"TIFA!"

Approximately two minutes later, sounds of bickering voices pierced the silent bar. Cloud sighed.

'Here we go again…'

Tifa had made the three siblings work at her bar, as 'payment' for living at her place. It was a good idea, she had said. She was in need of some extra hands anyway. Loz agreed to play bartender, which left Yazoo and Kadaj to be waiters. The two refused to let Kadaj out of bed, but the youth was persistent, and Kadaj usually got what he wanted.

"We better put a stop to it, before they take each other apart." Loz sighed as he went off to appease the screaming duo.

Cloud observed the silver-haired teen before him. Kadaj still looked sickly, but the smile on his face and the slightly flushed cheeks from the previous bouts of laughter gave his pale skin some colour. Cloud had never seen the boy smile in this sincerity. He looked truly…happy. Presently, Kadaj was looking at him, a curious expression on his face. Before he could say a word though, Loz called for him.

* * *

Darkness had fallen. Sephiroth knew from experience that this was a dangerous time. Monsters were at their most active moments, and the sense of sight could not be fully depended upon. Add to it the fact that he was _sick_…well, it wouldn't do any good to be lurking around in the dark and cold.

Sephiroth froze. His ears caught a slight rustle in the bushes. His hand moved to his side in a reflexive motion, only to find that Masamune was not with him. Sephiroth felt the cold penetrate him further. He had never had Masamune removed from his side. It was more that a weapon, more than a tool…it was the one thing that gave him a sense of security.

'Well, this complicates things…'

He stood still in the clearing, catlike eyes darting left and right. His muscles tensed, ready to jump into action. Something shot out of the trees on his left and Sephiroth jumped away.

'What…is this?'

In front of him, was what looked like a…wolf? But this wolf was huge, and it looked…malformed. Its features were twisted, as though in pain. It shuddered and roared and rammed its head into a nearby tree. Sephiroth had never seen any monster act this way before. The monster raised its head and roared into the air. Then, as though it had just noticed the figure watching him, it charged.

Sephiroth dived aside and rolled out of the pouncing creature's reach. The wolf jumped after him and swiped at the silver-haired man with its powerful paws. Rebounding off a tree, he aimed a kick at its snout. The wolf growled and twisted its body. Sephiroth grunted painfully when it slammed its tail into his back. Sephiroth frowned. He couldn't possibly defeat something of this size without a weapon, especially not in his current condition.

'What the-'

The wolf brought its paw down on him. Sephiroth evaded the blow but not the claws. Ignoring his bleeding shoulder, he clung onto the creature's fur and scaled its body. The monster raged, trying to throw the former general off its back. Sephiroth gripped the fur tightly as the monster trashed against the trees. He reached out and caught a broken branch. Holding it in his uninjured hand, he plunged it into the creature's eye.

Bellowing with pain and fury, the wolf reared his head. Sephiroth jumped down, but before he could land properly, he was knocked into a tree with a strong kick. He groaned as his body took the battering. His head hurt, his back hurt, heck, he was feeling pain everywhere! The monster raised itself on two feet, determined to make it a short job. Sephiroth glared at the creature which was about to crush him to death and tried to will his body to move.

Gunshots followed one after another, as a flurry of bullets embedded themselves into the wolf's body. The creature became motionless, and then swayed dangerously and landed heavily on one side. From the darkness, Vincent Valentine stepped out, Death Penalty smoking in his hands.

* * *

A/N: I wanted to lighten things up a bit. Can't have everyone being so solemn in every chapter now, can we? Gah, I suck at action scenes, especially monster scenes. I can do man vs man okay, but how are you supposed to describe a monster's movements without making it look like a human being? Please review, and thank you! 


	4. Change

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

_

* * *

_

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_ break_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Four: Change **

The interior of Seventh Heaven was dim, and music played softly in the background. The bar had quite a few customers tonight. Cloud was sitting at the bar counter. There was a stranger beside him.

"I know that this job is outside your work parameter but we really need your help." The elderly man looked serious.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the blond in a low voice.

"Monsters have been appearing near the factory where I work," said the man. "Usually, they leave the workers alone. But lately, they seem to be getting restless. There've already been two attacks."

"Please! We're afraid to go to work, but we can't quit either! All of us have families to feed…"

"So, you're asking for us to kill the monsters." Cloud phrased the man's intent simply. He nodded.

"…Where is the factory?" enquired the ex-SOLDIER after a slight consideration. The man's face lit up.

"You'll take the job?"

Cloud nodded. The man gave him a piece of paper with the location of the factory on it. After thanking Cloud profusely, he left the bar. Just after that, the vacated seat was taken up by a rather grumpy-looking Barret.

"Hey, Loz! Gimme a beer!" he shouted down the counter.

"Right!" Loz soon produced a bottle of beer and a glass. He set them down in front of Barret. Just then, Yazoo came over (And no, he's not in a dress.)

"A Scotch and two beers!"

"'Kay!"

Tifa, who just exited the kitchen, plopped herself down on the stool next to Cloud.

"They look like they're having fun."

Cloud said nothing, opting to watch the trio. Apparently Loz was teasing Yazoo about something, because the latter looked angry and was yelling at Loz, who then laughed. Cloud's blue eyes roamed the bar and settled on a certain silver-haired waiter at the corner table. Kadaj had a smile on his lips while taking down the orders. It was quite a sight to behold, and Cloud found himself unable to tear his eyes away.

"I hate that rat!"

Barret's grumbling jerked him out of his reverie. He didn't quite understand why, but he was annoyed by the older man's outburst.

"Grr…always bossing people 'round! Who does he think he is?"

Cloud raised him eyebrows at Tifa, who shrugged. They knew for a fact that Barret had taken up Rufus on his offer, but working together did nothing to help ease their relationship. By the looks of it, the president had just succeeded in pissing Barret off more than usual. Tifa tried to tell him not to worry too much about Rufus.

"Have you got another job?" Tifa asked.

Cloud nodded. "Monster extermination."

"Well, this means you're not going alone." Tifa stood up, hands akimbo.

* * *

"We'll be back before nightfall, so please take care of the kids and the place for the meanwhile."

Loz gave Tifa a thumbs-up.

"No problem!"

"Oh, and please buy the groceries. Get Yazoo to do it." Tifa handed Loz a list. Loz looked at Cloud who was waiting for Tifa.

"Are you sure the two of you can handle it?" asked Loz. "Not that I underestimate your strength but…"

"I need someone to take care of the place while we're gone. Besides, we can handle a few monsters."

Loz shrugged. "If you say so."

* * *

Lifestream, a strange substance once used as a source of energy. It is said that the souls of those who died return to it, flowing through the planet as a part of the river. When the substance from Lifestream crystallises, Materia is formed, allowing for those who possess it to use magic.

Lifestream was supposed to be untainted, clean…but no longer. Far away from Midgar, from civilisation, the purity of Lifestream was beginning to get contaminated. Unknown to the occupants of this planet, the river was growing black.

* * *

Yazoo was pissed. Why must he be the one to do the shopping? Doubtlessly, this must be Tifa's work.

"Stupid woman…" muttered Yazoo darkly under his breath. "She's taking every opportunity to make my life harder." Somewhere in the outskirts of Midgar, Tifa sneezed.

Giving up on griping, the long-haired youth studied the shopping list Loz had given him. It was mostly foodstuff that he had to get, but there was one unusual item on the list.

'Looks like motor parts…' mused Yazoo. 'Why would Tifa want something like that?'

As far as he could recall, the martial artist had no interest whatsoever in engineering. This meant that he would have to stop by the workshop for a while. What a bother!

* * *

Fenrir skidded to a halt, sending dust into the air. Cloud and Tifa dismounted and scanned the surroundings. The factory, a small building black with grime, was located near the edge of the forest.

"I was expecting more…noise." Tifa commented.

Cloud silently agreed. There was a lack rowdy workers loafing around the compound as one might expect. Even the chug of machinery sounded somewhat quiet. A side door opened, and a skinny man poked his head out. He looked around cautiously and after a while, stole out with a small bucket. Thick, greyish black liquid sloshed in the bucket as he ran towards a small waste disposal shed some distance away.

"Yuck…" Tifa cringed as some of the black substance spilled onto the ground. "Ew, what's that?"

A scream suddenly alerted the two; the scrawny man was running back to the factory, bucket abandoned. Cloud and Tifa looked on with a mix of awe and repulsion at an approaching monster. It was huge, but the head nestled between the shoulders was the size of a human head; small in comparison to the body. The skin looked like it was cracked and peeling, but the rough texture warned Cloud of its toughness.

Cloud drew his sword, while Tifa was already speeding towards the monster. The martial artist landed a blow onto the body, only to find that her fists had no effect on it. Cloud jumped and brought his sword down, hard.

"What!" The blade bounced back, vibrating so much he almost lost his grip. Narrowing his eyes, the blond released a series of quick strikes, while Tifa pounded continuously at the creature.

"It's no use! His skin's too hard to penetrate!"

Cloud glanced at his sword; it was nicked at a few places. He saw that Tifa's gloves were torn, her knuckles bleeding. The creature roared, obviously angered, and galloped towards them on all fours.

"The head."

Without a moment's waste, they went at the monster, aiming for the head. Just when they thought they had it, the head squeezed into a crack, successfully protecting the only spot of flesh from damage. Cloud's sword ricocheted at an angle, and Tifa was forced to do a backward flip to avoid the blade.

The headless creature now rampaged around, as though sightless. Tifa managed to jump away, but Cloud was trapped between its legs. It kicked violently at his chest, knocking Cloud a great distance back. Cloud stood up shakily; he might have broken a rib or two by the aching feeling.

He staggered back and stepped into a puddle of the black slosh. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Grabbing the half-full bucket, he flung it at the monster, emptying the contents onto it. One materia on his sword began to glow.

"Firaga!" cried the blond.

The monster's body burst into flame. Enraged shrieks escaped the living fireball, trailing smoke as it went on a trampling fury.

"What-" Tifa began.

"It's oil. Machine oil." Cloud tightened his grip on his sword.

When the flames died down, the monster stuck its head out. At this moment, Cloud jumped up and slashed at its neck. A voiceless cry issued from the severed head, and the monster fell on its side, lifeless.

"Finally…" sighed Tifa.

Cloud studied the monster's tracks carefully.

'It came from the forest.'

* * *

Yazoo looked up at the signboard, shopping bags in arms. This was where he had to get the final item on the list. After that, he would be done.

A bell tinkled when he pushed the door open.

"Welcome! How may I help you?" The shop owner was an unshaven man in his thirties. His hair looked tousled and he was presently looking at Yazoo from top to toe.

"Yes. I need a…um, spark plug and the exhaust."

The man's gaze made Yazoo feel very uncomfortable; he could almost swear that the man looked hungry. Just then, the bell tinkled again, signalling that someone else had entered the shop. Yazoo turned around to find Reno standing at the entrance.

"Hey, boss! I need some parts! Here's the list."

Yazoo felt a gush of inexplicable relief. At least he won't be stuck alone with the creepy shop owner now.

"Hold up a second." The shop owner disappeared to the back of the shop.

"Oh, what're you doing here?" asked Reno.

"None of your business…" he couldn't help retorting.

Reno shrugged. The man returned and piled the parts into a box with pieces of foam. Then, he turned his attention to Yazoo.

"I got your spark plug but the exhaust…what model do you need?"

"Er…I don't know." Yazoo glanced at the list. The man drew closer, peering over his shoulder. Yazoo pulled himself away.

"It's for a motorbike."

"Well, take a look at these few models, and tell me which one you'd like."

'What the hell is wrong with him?' thought Yazoo frantically as the shop owner gave him a mysterious and perhaps, lecherous grin. He pointed at one hastily, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you'll need? Anything at all?" Feeling a little cornered, Yazoo couldn't seem to tear himself out of this sticky situation. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his left shoulder.

"Nope, I think that'll be all he needs!" said Reno a little louder than necessary, and then proceeded to lead Yazoo out of the shop. Once outside, Yazoo squirmed out of the redhead's grip.

"You better be more careful." Reno warned the long-haired youth. "That perverted old geezer had an eye out for you."

Yazoo raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"The slums are dangerous for someone as beautiful as you." With that, Reno walked away, leaving a stunned Yazoo to ponder his words.

* * *

A/N: Ah, I've finally managed to rush a New Year chapter (since I couldn't post it on Christmas) Um…I'm not sure if they call it Fire 3 or Firaga, can't remember. The motor thing was absolutely random, but I couldn't think of any other way to make Yazoo and Reno meet. Oh no, I think I've just turned Yazoo into an uke! He's so going to kill me! Oh, Happy New Year! 


	5. Confusion

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

* * *

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Five: Confusion**

Loz and Kadaj were chatting at the bar counter when Cloud and Tifa came back.

"Ah, welcome home!"

Loz passed his eyes over the pair and noticed Tifa's bruised knuckles.

"I'll go get the first-aid kit."

Tifa shook her head. "I'm fine, I've cured it."

"Just to be safe." Loz disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared a moment later with a first-aid kit.

"What about you, Cloud? Are you injured?" asked Kadaj. Cloud shook his head, but a sudden, sharp pain ripped through his abdomen. Clutching his side, he was reminded that he could have broken a rib during his fight with the monster.

"Are you okay?" Kadaj had to help Cloud into a chair.

"I think…I broke a rib." And to think that it didn't hurt when they were heading back. Tifa, knuckles bandaged, came over.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I…forgot…" answered Cloud simply.

"Forgot? How could you forget if you're injured? Here, take off your shirt! I'll cure it right away."

Cloud tried to protest but Tifa glowered at him, sharp glare promising pain should he not follow her orders now. Cloud peeled off his shirt slowly, the pain in his side making it difficult.

"Oh wow, that looks like it really hurts…" grimaced Loz. A few purple-coloured bruises covered Cloud's abdomen, skin broken in certain spots so that there was dried blood on his stomach.

"I can't believe that you could stay silent from an injury this serious!" chided Tifa.

Kadaj sat aside, watching as Loz helped a grumbling Tifa with Cloud's wound. His eyes rested themselves on Cloud. The blond had a very pleasant complexion, not too pale yet not dark. Even the purple of the bruise blended well with his complexion. He was rather lean, but had muscular arms and a well-toned torso.

With a jolt, Kadaj realised that he had been staring at Cloud's chest and looked away hurriedly. He could feel his cheeks burning.

"Kadaj. Hey, Kadaj!"

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?" asked Loz. "Are you feeling sick again?"

"No, it's nothing." Kadaj shook his head. Cloud was dressing again.

Suddenly, the door opened and Yazoo hurried in. Before anyone could say anything, he walked mechanically, albeit in very quick strides, into the kitchen with bags of groceries.

"O…kay…what was that about?" Loz raised his eyebrows.

"Um, was it me, or was Yazoo's face red?" questioned Kadaj. He had noticed the crimson cheeks despite the paper bags.

"It wasn't you." Tifa stated. Just what was wrong with Yazoo?

* * *

When Sephiroth opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was that he wasn't in his own body. His whole body was extremely heavy and refused to function properly. The only thing he was able to do was turn his head to the side. This he did, and with a slight shock, locked eyes with Vincent Valentine. Emerald eyes narrowed in suspicion as he passed a cautious glare over this silent figure. Sephiroth noticed that he had not the usual red cloak on, noticed that the garment was covering _his_ body.

"You are awake." The gunman stated the obvious.

"…" Sephiroth gave no response, merely watched as Vincent got up and approached him.

Vincent pulled off the glove on his human hand and placed it on Sephiroth's forehead. Vaguely, he felt the man flinch. Vincent nodded to himself, satisfied that the fever was gone. Sephiroth was tense, not really comprehending the situation. Could this perhaps be some form of delusion? He was rendered helpless on the bed, but the gunman had yet to attack him.

The former Turk rose from his bedside and walked away to one corner of the shack. It was the same shack where Sephiroth first woke in, but the silver-haired man had other thoughts occupying his mind. For one instance, Vincent turning his back to him dealt a blow to Sephiroth's pride. Was he so weak now that his nemesis could afford to lower his guard with him? He made to get up.

"I would suggest you lie still. You have yet to recover fully." Vincent's voice drifted from the corner. He turned around, a steaming bowl in his hands.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed me yet." The former general adopted his usual cold tone.

"Is there a reason to do so?" Vincent placed the broth on the table and moved towards the figure on the bed. He helped Sephiroth sit up, a task the former general found daunting since his muscles were sore and stiff all over. Then, to his surprise, Vincent began to massage his arms.

"Including the time I found you at Lifestream, you have been sleeping for more than a week."

'More that a week? I've slept that long?'

"It was foolish to run off into the forest with a high fever. And to top it off, fighting a monster of that size alone…I wonder sometimes if you have a death wish." Vincent's human hand moved to his legs, working to ease his muscles.

Despite himself, Sephiroth found that he enjoyed the massage and was slightly annoyed when Vincent stopped. He caught the gunman's wrist just as he turned around.

"Why do you treat me with so little caution? I tried to kill you once. _I was your enemy._" Sephiroth's body was hurt, but his pride was far more injured.

"You have answered your own question, Sephiroth," This was the first time Vincent called him by name. "You _were_ our enemy once, but _are_ you still?"

His reply stunned Sephiroth. He did not know what to make of this enigmatic man who acted as though they were acquaintances and not foes. He reasoned that if he indeed harboured any ill intent, Vincent would have plenty of chances during his period of unconsciousness. So why was he being so…so civil to him?

The truth was, Vincent himself did not understand. Why would he save this person? Why did he feel concern for him? He himself could not fathom the reasons for his own actions. Could it be because he was Lucrecia's son? That he owed her his heart, he wanted to repay her somehow, through her only son? No, he merely wanted to do it, all by his own accord. And for now, that was all that mattered.

* * *

"I think it's worth checking out."

Cloud was just discussing with Tifa about the monster they had fought the other day. The fact that it came out from the forest disturbed him somehow. In low voices, the two debated whether to return to the forest the next day, just to look into the problem further.

"Still, it's very odd that monsters are growing more active nowadays." Tifa mused as she cleaned out a glass absent-mindedly. Even though deep in thought, Tifa's hands worked themselves, expertly mixing a drink before pouring it into the glass. Cloud stared at his glass, not really seeing it. In his trance, Cloud failed to notice a pair of catlike orbs watching him intently.

"Kadaj! Your order!"

"Ah, yes!" Kadaj hurried to retrieve his tray from Loz, who gave him a strange and slightly concerned look, though he said nothing.

He was watching Cloud more often lately, though Kadaj was not entirely sure why. It just seemed that at any moment the blond was in sight, his eyes will search for him. Every time he was in need, it seemed as though the swordsman was nearby to offer him help. Now and then, he would see the old nightmare, and when he opened his eyes, the first presence he sought out was Cloud's. Perhaps dependency was taking its toll on him, but Kadaj had a small inkling that it was nothing that simple.

"Your order, sir…" murmured the silver-haired youth as he set down a bottle of whiskey.

'He must dead drunk by now.' Kadaj thought as he passed his eyes over the slumped figure. He cleared the three empty bottles on the table, shaking his head at how much these people drink. He could never understand the lure of alcoholic drinks; he disliked them.

"Hey…" the man pulled at his wrist, eyes unfocused. "Sit down and drink with me."

"I'm afraid not, sir." Kadaj tugged at his hand, but the man's grip was surprisingly strong.

"Come on!" The man rose unsteadily from his seat and drew nearer to the youth. Kadaj tried to cringe away from him.

"Hey, you're really cute when I look closely…" slurred the drunken man.

"I'm warning you…" growled Kadaj through gritted teeth as he tried his best to fend off the approaching man with just one hand while balancing the tray in the other. He was so close Kadaj could smell the liquor on his breath.

"Hey!" Kadaj flinched when he felt those arms encircle his waist. Suddenly, a pair of hands extricated him from the unwanted embrace, pulling Kadaj near.

"Leave him alone." Cloud's sapphire eyes had a sharp glint to them as he held the man at bay. The customer was too drowsy to even bother and fell back into his chair, eyes rolling in their sockets.

"Are you all right?" asked the blond. He released his hold on the green-eyed boy.

"Y-Yeah…" Kadaj had never felt so grateful for the dimness in the bar. "Thanks."

Cloud merely nodded. It appeared that none of his brothers had noticed the incident, so Kadaj was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He was slightly shaken, not from the harassment, but from the close proximity with Cloud he experienced a moment ago. Shuddering as though a cold wind had blow through him, Kadaj went about his work as usual.

* * *

A/N: I'm really mean...I molested Yazoo in the last chapter, molested Kadaj in this chapter...wonder who I'm going to molest in the next chapter? I actually faced a huge problem with Sephiroth and Vincent's scene because I had little idea how Sephiroth would react to being rescued by a former enemy. In the end, I settled for this, though I'm not exactly sure it was how I wanted it to turn out. Reviews and opinions are much appreciated, thank you! 


	6. Resolved

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

**

* * *

Second Chances**

**Chapter Six: Resolved**

Sephiroth sat up slowly in his bed. It had been only a few days, but he seemed to be recovering well. Begrudgingly, he was grateful to the gunman for nursing him back to health. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he tested his legs gingerly. When he was sure they could support him, he stood up and took slow steps towards the table, where his black leather cloak was neatly folded. Three days ago, he was surprised to wake to a different surrounding, and learned later that Vincent had carried him from the shack to an abandoned but decent house in this nearby village. The former Turk had done it when Sephiroth was sleeping apparently, knowing full well that had he done otherwise, Sephiroth would cause a good deal of trouble. But the facilities of an average house were needed, and the shack they were living in could hardly provide those.

The door to his room creaked open, and Vincent stepped in. He showed no sign of surprise whatsoever at the sight of the silver-haired swordsman standing by the table. In his arms was a bundle of fresh clothes he had been able to salvage from the deserted cottage. Whoever who left this house was in a hurry and left the house as it was, together with his belongings. Whatever the reason, Vincent was grateful for their luck.

"You might find these useful, though I think they might be of slightly smaller size."

He and Sephiroth had managed to establish a civil relationship, both seeing no advantage from causing trouble and attracting any possible, unwanted attention. Honestly, Vincent was surprised the swordsman had yet to jump at his throat. He left the room, guessing that the man must want to change into something clean after spending days in that same outfit.

The moment Vincent stepped out of his room, Sephiroth gathered a towel and entered the bathroom. It had the necessities and Sephiroth wasn't about to complain when he could finally get himself cleaned up.

'Why, the water's even heated…' he mused silently, enjoying the steady rush of water over his body. The hot water was relaxing to his muscles, and for a minute, Sephiroth emptied his thoughts to enjoy the shower. Next, he took the bar of soap and began to lather himself. After the time he spent being stuck in that bed, this was quite a luxury.

Finally, having scrubbed himself squeaky clean, Sephiroth slipped into a pair of soft grey pants and a shirt. Vincent was right, the shirt hung a little short on him but the pants fitted well. Raking back wet strands of hair, he heard a knock on his door.

It was Vincent again, this time bearing a tray with food. His stomach took this opportunity to remind him of how hungry he was by letting out a very audible growl. Sephiroth could not stop himself from blushing, his usual mechanism of masking his expression failing him this once. Vincent noted this with interest; it was amazing how much more human the former general looked. It brought a small smile to his lips as he set down the tray.

"I want a reason."

Vincent looked up; Sephiroth bore the usual serious and cold expression.

"I want a reason why you're helping me."

Vincent thought for a long time, choosing his words carefully so as not to lose the fragile trust, if that was what they had.

"I…simply wanted to."

"Simply wanted to?" Sephiroth scoffed. "What a fine excuse!"

"I want the truth, Vincent Valentine. Surely, there must a far better explanation as to why you'd put your neck on the line for me?" Sephiroth sat down in his chair, crossing his legs and assuming a commanding air. "I can definitely put up a better fight now, compared to the last few days, but I would prefer to hear your reasons first. Why would you save your former enemy?"

"Because I believe…" Vincent looked at his clawed hand, clenching them. "I believe that you can be redeemed."

_The way I can never be redeemed._

"You're lying. You're not looking at me." Sephiroth's tone was sharp.

"It is the truth, to me." Vincent lifted his gaze from his claw and met Sephiroth's eyes. "You were used by Jenova, that I believed. And that is also the reason you can be redeemed."

Vincent felt a dull, throbbing pain in the deep corner of his heart.

_Lucrecia, I can never forgive myself, for the sins I've committed to you…_

"What are you hiding from me, Vincent?"

"…Everything and nothing. I have no right to talk about redemption, for I am a sinner. But I know you deserve redemption. That is why I saved you. You deserve a second chance."

For a while, there was nothing but silence. Sephiroth appeared to digest his words slowly while Vincent lapsed back into his own thoughts, thinking that he had said too much on his part.

"A second chance…" There was no scorn, no sarcasm. Sephiroth said it more to himself than to Vincent. "Do I deserve it as you say?"

* * *

It was a new moon tonight, and Sephiroth stared into the darkness in the distance. The conversation he had had with Vincent was playing lightly in his mind. Was there any way he could have denied it? Any way at all to push away the uncomfortable truth mirrored in those crimson eyes? The truth that Sephiroth wanted to be forgiven, wanted to be able redeem himself yet he knew that he had done too much wrong to be delivered from these sins. The same truth that he sensed in Vincent's being.

He did not know what was in the gunman's past for him to have the same kind of eyes as he did. All he knew, from rumours and from bits of memories he glimpsed in the Lifestream that Vincent was once Lucrecia's lover. And loved her he did. Was that why he cared for Sephiroth? No, that was not it. Sephiroth was no expert in thought, but from experience, he knew how to tell if someone was lying to him, or to himself for that matter.

He could see, just for that one moment, that Vincent wanted freedom from the ghosts of his past, the same way Sephiroth did. And through this one similarity, he was bound to him for no one had ever been able to look past him and tell him that he deserved another chance. Not the way Vincent told him, not the way he meant it.

Suddenly, his door opened a crack. From the bed, Sephiroth caught sight of Vincent's figure, the ebony hair falling over his eyes. Sephiroth pretended to be asleep when he came closer, eyes shut. There was no noise, and then suddenly, Sephiroth felt the mattress shift. His eyes snapped open and he was staring right into Vincent's red orbs. The older man was crouching over him, straddling him.

Vincent Valentine couldn't control himself. When he mentioned this afternoon that Sephiroth deserved a second chance, he stopped himself from saying something else that was on his mind. Sephiroth deserved to be _loved._ Looking at the pale figure under him, Vincent could not imagine that anyone could resist being attracted to this beautiful being. Because that was what he was; beautiful. It was a shame that people should shun him because they feared his strength and superiority.

And the desire to tell Sephiroth exactly that overwhelmed him now like no other emotion. Seeing him this way reminded Vincent of himself, and with the realisation came such a powerful hunger for comfort that Vincent could not pull himself away from the mesmerising, questioning, maddening gaze. Because other than his certainty that Sephiroth deserved to be loved, there was also the knowledge that Vincent _loved_ him. He did not know why, need not know anything now except that he craved his presence.

And with this thought in mind, gently, slowly, Vincent pressed his lips onto Sephiroth's. Catlike orbs widened at the unfamiliar intimacy; unfamiliar but not unwanted. The kiss acted like a key. The dam which Sephiroth held his emotions clicked open and his yearning for human warmth, long hidden away in the deepest part of his soul, returned with savage passion.

Vincent pulled away, crimson staring into emerald for any reaction, any form of reaction at all. And within Sephiroth's eyes, he detected the need, the longing, unmasked and open to him. Again he dipped his head, kissing him deeper, with unconcealed fervour that simply said that he wanted him, he _needed_ him. Their tongues danced in desperation, wanting more of each other's soul, drawing what comfort they could from each other. And when the need for air finally overpowered the desire for comfort, they parted, lips glistening.

There was no need for questions. Whatever reasons they might have were written in their eyes, and they spoke through them, as though their souls were in contact and the need for words was nonexistent. Sephiroth felt a most unnatural feeling; he wanted to weep. The emotions that swept through him overcame him and affected him so intensely that he wanted to cry. But he did not. And when Vincent climbed into bed beside him, he allowed himself to let go of his defences. They spent the rest of the night in quiet companionship, understanding each other's silence, for it was merely each other's presence that they needed.

* * *

A/N:Whew, that's done...Holy Mother of Materia! I typed a whole chapter on Vincent and Sephiroth alone!Okay, this chapter is dedicated to all my readers, thank you for reading and reviewing all the time! They mean a lot to me and I look forward to your uh, patronage and opinions in the future! And SephVince fans! Hope this chapter was up to your tastes, because I'm still pretty raw at this. Anyways, thanks! 


	7. Stolen

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

* * *

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Seven: Stolen**

****

"Why did I friggin' agree to this?" groaned Cid as he slapped at another insect out to get his blood.

"Because you thought it was a good chance to show off you new and improved airship!" chirped Yuffie. Unlike the pilot, she was much unaffected by the heat and insects in the air.

"We needed a ride, Cid." Tifa then added mentally. 'And a hand, just in case.'

The small party consisting of Cloud, Tifa, Cid and Yuffie made their way through the thick foliage in the sweltering heat. Cid was at his nerve's end, after continuously being assaulted by bloodsucking insects, which strangely left the rest of the party alone.

"Grah, why are they comin' at me only?" shouted the older man out of pure aggravation.

"Because you're an old man!" giggled the young shinobi. Cid attempted to hit Yuffie with the butt of his spear. He missed, of course.

"Be careful where you swing that thing!" scolded Tifa. Cloud just shook his head; trust them to be messing around when they were supposed to be doing something serious. He scanned their surroundings cautiously.

'Talk about deceiving appearances…'

The interior of the forest was nothing like its borders. Unlike the pleasant shrubbery and occasional flora they first saw, the interior was a maze of dark, twisting vines. It became increasingly difficult to manoeuvre their way through the thick vines, and many a time, Cloud had to hack his way through.

"Um, something feels wrong about this forest…" muttered Yuffie suddenly.

"You're halfway through it and you notice it now?" asked Tifa, half amused and half surprised.

"No, it's too quiet…way too quiet."

Cloud saw that it was indeed true. They had not seen any animals or monsters even; indeed, other than the dark, almost black vines, there were no other life forms. For a while, the four stood absolutely still, listening to the silence of the forest. And then, Cloud heard trickling. Making their way towards the faint sound, they tightened their grips on their weapons. Stepping out into the rays, they stopped to behold the sight before them. Yuffie was the first to voice what was on their thoughts.

"What…is that?"

"A…stream?"

At least, that was what Tifa thought it was. The body of water flowed slowly through a vista of black trunks. It looked like a stream all right, except that it was black. Cloud knelt down and stared at the stream, a small frown playing on his face.

"Lifestream…" breathed the blond.

"Huh? But Lifestream, it's-" Cid interjected.

"Not black in colour. Not unless something is polluting the Lifestream." Cloud nodded, he knew what Cid was trying to say.

"What could possibly be polluting the Lifestream?" asked Tifa. The sight of the black waters was somehow disturbing, as though it was hiding something in its depths.

"I don't know, but I know this is what's causing the monsters to evolve."

* * *

Vincent was boiling something on the stove when Sephiroth strayed into the kitchen. Approaching the older man from behind, he peeked over his shoulder to look into the pot.

"Soup again? Vincent, can't we have something solid for once?" The former general's tone was one of amusement and not sarcasm. Vincent turned his head and pecked Sephiroth lightly on the lips, causing the swordsman to smile. Vincent thought it was the most beautiful sight he ever beheld.

Sephiroth was beginning to open up to him, and Vincent was certain he had never known such happiness before the past week. His heart felt much lighter than ever, and the memories of his sins didn't haunt him as badly as before. Perhaps, by falling in love with Sephiroth, Vincent had found his peace.

And to Sephiroth, Vincent was his salvation. Here was the man who accepted him and understood him without judging his past. The swordsman was learning to discard the mask he had been putting up all these years and once again enjoy the freedom of expressing his emotions. Nothing meant more to them than each other.

"Could it be that you can't cook anything else?" mocked Sephiroth in a light voice.

"You're not well enough to take solid food yet." Vincent stated plainly. Sephiroth raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? I'm not well enough to eat solids, but well enough to bed you every night?" teased the silver-haired man.

Vincent just smirked, prepared with his own comeback. "That's a different story now, isn't it? Of course, you always seem more energetic during _sex_." He emphasised on the last word.

Sephiroth blushed, a pretty shade of pink dusted over his cheeks. Vincent smiled victoriously; the younger man was still unused to the bold terms of their relationship. This made Sephiroth all more innocent in his eyes, a child hungering for the love and acceptance of another being.

"Well, surely it can't hurt to eat real food." Sephiroth muttered, "Here, why don't you let me cook? What?"

Vincent wore such a stunned expression on his face it made Sephiroth want to grin.

"You…cook?"

Sephiroth barely suppressed his chuckle. He wondered why it was so surprising to people that he _could_ cook; after all, he lived alone and had to feed himself somehow. But then again, The Great General Sephiroth in the kitchen…it must be hard for them to imagine.

"Yes, I cook, Vincent. Now, why don't you sit down while I prepare something?" ushered Sephiroth. The gunman shook his head, indicating that he would rather stay in the kitchen.

"Now this is a sight to see…" muttered Vincent.

* * *

After a very satisfying lunch of soup and pasta, Vincent leaned back into his chair, a cup of coffee in front of him. Sephiroth crossed his legs and cocked his head to one side.

"What do you think of my culinary skills?" asked the former general with a small smile.

"Amazing," Vincent then had a small thought, and added with a devious grin. "Nothing compared to your skills in bed though."

Sephiroth could swear that Vincent loved the idea of making fun of him. He felt his cheeks burning.

"Is that all you ever think about, pervert?"

"Oh, I'm merely stating what I think." And Vincent tried to look serious.

"You're hopeless!" laughed the swordsman, shaking his head. Vincent merely feigned innocence and shrugged. The laughter died away after a while, and Sephiroth's expression was lost in deep thought.

"On the other hand," Sephiroth sat up straight, his face losing the gaiety. "There is something I need to discuss with you."

Sensing the change in mood, Vincent paid full attention.

"Do you know why I managed to come back, when I should have been dead?"

Vincent shook his head. He had wanted to ask but was afraid that it might stir unwanted memories in the taller man. Sephiroth leaned forward. It was time to tell his tale.

* * *

"I see. This is indeed strange."

"Here." Cloud handed Tseng a small bottle, filled with water from the black Lifestream. Tseng took it and looked at it intently before putting it in his pocket.

"I'll try to get it analysed back at the company."

"Thanks."

Cloud saw Tifa moving towards them, bearing a tray with three glasses.

"Well, since you're here, I want you try this new drink I mixed." She handed them a glass each. Cloud and Tseng raised the glasses to their lips and cringed simultaneously.

"What is this?" Cloud could feel the liquid burning in his throat.

Tifa smirked. "Vodka mixed with whiskey, with a dash of brandy. I added a little sake for the kick, the spicy kind. Packs a punch strong enough to rival a Molotov cocktail. It's bound to knock you out after three drinks, Cloud!" She winked at Loz who gave her a thumbs-up.

"This is too strong for my liking." Tseng said, putting the glass down.

"Well, your friend Reno seems to be getting by just fine. He's had four and he's still standing." Tifa indicated with her head.

Reno was currently yelling down the counter for another. His face was red from the alcohol, and he found that he couldn't focus his sight properly. Loz looked at him questioningly, but handed him another glass anyway. As soon as he downed the contents, Reno felt the heat settle in his stomach. He knew he was going to have a terrible headache tomorrow but right now, he couldn't exactly be bothered.

The amount of liquid _had_ to go somewhere, and Reno suddenly felt the need to consult the restroom. Rising slowly, he staggered his way into the restroom. Tseng simply shook his head as he watched. Cloud looked at Tifa, who shrugged with a small and perhaps, mischievous smile.

When Reno came out of the restroom, he could feel the dizzying, nauseous effect of the alcohol. He almost stumbled in the dark hallway when someone caught his arm and steadied him.

"If you can't handle your booze, don't drink that much."

Reno heard the person chide softly and squinted to look at his face. Behind a curtain of long silver tresses, Yazoo was peering at him intently. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or could it be the light? Whichever it was, Reno was very much aware of every feature on Yazoo's face. His emerald orbs looked as though they were swirling and it made him dizzy. Reno pinched his eyes shut for a while. When he reopened them, he was staring intently at those peach lips.

Then, without thinking, as he was quite incapable of thinking straight right now, he leaned in and captured Yazoo's lips. The silver-haired youth widened his eyes at the act, finding himself pinned against the wall and unable to move or react. It was clumsy at first, but the pressure of Reno's lips slowly increased. Yazoo's mind was blank except for the thought that he was being kissed by _Reno_ and that the man tasted of strong alcohol.

"OW!"

A few heads turned towards the yell, namely, Cloud, Tifa, Tseng, Loz and Kadaj. They watched inquisitively as Yazoo stormed out of the hallway, looking angry yet blushing furiously. As soon as he disappeared into the kitchen, Tifa walked towards the restroom and returned lugging an unconscious Reno, who currently sported a nasty bruise on his left cheek. Loz and Kadaj exchanged knowing glances, the impulse to grin tugging at their lips. Tseng shook his head with disapproval; Reno probably brought this upon himself.

* * *

A/N: Ah, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter. Poor Reno, you shouldn't have done that (although I'm the main perpetrator of his misfortune, hehehe…) Somehow, I enjoy picking on Yazoo and Reno. Well, I always hear you guys say that you can't find any RenoYazoo fics. I hope this chapter pleases you! Reviews and opinions are much appreciated, thank you! 


	8. Fault

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

* * *

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Eight: Fault**

He could never understand the things he did or why he did them. Yazoo refused to acknowledge the one possible notion that might link that person's strange deeds to his own even stranger reactions, so he settled for the easiest thought that came to him. Reno was an absolute moron.

The redhead came back two nights later after that incident outside the restroom. He had said nothing to Yazoo, didn't even bother explaining the plaster on his cheek. Obviously, he had forgotten all about it! For some reason, Yazoo was really put out with that. Of course, it did not make much sense to the silver-haired youth. Why was he feeling so upset?

This was all Reno's fault! Yes, it's all his fault. It's only justified that he felt angry with Reno. He should just forget about what happened and ignore him. That's right, just ignore him.

* * *

Young Kadaj was facing perhaps a similar problem to that of his elder brother. However, unlike Yazoo, he was not stubborn to the extent of overlooking all possibilities. Since he did not really understand the nature of this odd little problem, the best thing to do, he reasoned, was to ask someone who might know. And who better to bring your queries to if not your eldest brother?

Kadaj reckoned that the best time to ask was when they were alone, so he picked a particular evening when they were supposed to do the shopping together. Loz suggested that they stop by a small café for a drink, so he agreed.

"So…" The short-haired man leaned forward. "What's the problem?"

"Huh? How did you guess? I haven't even said anything."

"It's written all over your face, Kadaj. Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Loz looked at him intently over his cup of coffee.

"Well…" Kadaj hesitated. How should he put this?

"When you start to pay a lot of attention to someone, what does it mean?"

Loz rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Can you be more specific? In what way do you mean, pay attention?"

"You find that you're always looking at that person. You're always thinking about the person, and you can't help but worry sometimes." Kadaj looked absently at his caramel latte.

"And then, strange things happen to you when the person is around. When that person looks at you, you find that you can't breathe, and your heart seems to beat faster."

"You notice the things they say and the things they do in greater detail. You want to be close to them but you can't…because every time, it hurts here…" Kadaj laid a hand on his heart.

"That's love."

Kadaj looked at his brother. The man had a small, understanding smile on his face.

"What's…love?"

"It's when you care deeply for someone, you want them to be safe and you want to protect them so that they can be happy. You don't only think about them, but also _for_ them, for their happiness, their well-being. It's not something I can put in words." Loz shrugged.

"But…can we…love?" After all, Kadaj couldn't forget the fact that they were born of Jenova's thoughts.

"Everybody can love, and everybody deserves to be loved," Loz said confidently, then added softly. "That's what she taught me."

"She?" The younger boy stared at his brother incredulously. Loz, apparently not intending for him to hear that, laughed nervously and shook his head.

"No, no, nothing at all!"

Kadaj narrowed his eyes.

"Loz…" he started. Loz chose not to meet his gaze, further elevating his suspicion.

"Are you hiding something from me? Who're you talking about?"

"Uh…"

"You're not telling me…" Kadaj's emerald eyes dilated in shock. "Are you in love with someone?"

Loz blushed and nodded somewhat sheepishly.

"Who is it? Is it someone we know?" Again, the man nodded.

"Someone we know…" Something clicked in his mind. Kadaj took on an expression of disbelief and stared at Loz.

* * *

"You're _what_?" Both Kadaj and Loz winced as Yazoo's voice went several octaves higher. "Tifa? _The_ Tifa?"

Yazoo had gone pale with shock and some form of silent outrage.

"Why her, of all the women in the world? Why _her_?"

"He's taking it rather badly, isn't he?" Kadaj whispered to Loz, a small grin tugging at his lips.

"Well, we know that he isn't overly fond of Tifa, but he'll get over it."

"How long…how far gone are…" spluttered Yazoo.

"We're going out, you can say." Loz rubbed the bridge of his nose, slightly embarrassed.

Yazoo choked, and then he threw his hands up into the air and uttered a string of very creative curses. Kadaj tried to calm his brother.

"Come on, Yazoo. It's not that bad."

"Of course it's not! Wait till she's our sister-in-law!" lamented the long-haired youth.

Kadaj was slightly stunned at the prospect of marriage between the two.

"H-Hey! We're not taking it that far yet!" Loz was blushing to the roots of his hair.

Suddenly, a low chuckle issued from the door. All three turned to find Cloud leaning on the doorframe, amusement twinkling in his blue eyes. Kadaj felt his breath catch in his chest. He had never seen the blond smile before.

"What's so funny?" snapped Yazoo.

"It's like Kadaj said," The boy felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of his name. "It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say… You're not the one she has a grudge against, and if they ever planned to get together permanently…" Yazoo shuddered.

"Don't worry, Tifa won't eat you alive." Cloud assured him. "The two of you get along fine, actually."

"Then why does she like to pick fights with me?" demanded Yazoo.

Cloud shrugged. "She's enjoys it, I guess."

"Agh! Why _me_?"

* * *

Cloud couldn't remember the last time he had actually displayed his mirth. It was just…the reaction of the three brothers had looked so hilarious! And he was feeling oddly relaxed at that time. Why? When did that happen? He had been worrying about the Lifestream before that, until Tifa sent him up to call the three down for dinner. Then when he arrived at their room, he opened the door a crack and saw Kadaj. The youngest boy had been chuckling at Yazoo's dramatic antics. Immediately, the sight filled him with an odd satisfaction, pushing his worries away as the sound of his laughter filled his ears.

Cloud looked up from his plate, blue orbs darting to the left before settling back on his meal. The table rang with laughter as Kadaj and Yuffie teased Loz and Tifa continuously while Yazoo mumbled darkly under his breath. He was watching him again, he knew that. But Cloud couldn't help himself, mesmerised by the way his eyes crinkled in delight, the tinkling laughter flowing from those parted lips, the way he pushed those delicate silver strands out of his eyes.

And then, Kadaj was looking at him in the eye, a small, sweet smile gracing his face. The eye contact was brief, like a brushing of their conscience, but Cloud could feel the profound effect of that fleeting moment. He quickly removed his gaze from the silver-haired boy, wondering why his chest hurt.

All these little movements went unnoticed by most, but they did not escape the observant eye of a particular martial artist. A small suspicion nudged at the back of her mind but she decided not to pursue it now.

* * *

Rude was worried. Something was wrong with his partner, but he didn't know what the problem was. The usually carefree and buoyant redhead had been significantly subdued lately. Reno still joked around, but Rude was his partner, and he could tell that he did it half-heartedly. Sometimes, he caught Reno staring distantly at nothing in particular. He did not mention anything however, so Rude did not enquire the matter. It was not proper to poke into someone else's business, especially when that person did not want to talk about it. It didn't stop him from worrying though.

* * *

"Thank you very much!" called Loz after the drunken customer.

"Whew! That's the last one. Let's clean up."

Kadaj grabbed a rag and proceeded to wipe the tables while Yazoo disposed the empty bottles and cans into black plastic bags. Loz submerged the glasses in water, leaving the washing for tomorrow. After they had swept the place clean and rearranged the chairs, Loz and Kadaj stretched tiredly.

"Why don't you two head to bed? I'll take out the garbage." Yazoo offered.

"'Kay then. G'night…" mumbled Loz as he climbed the stairs.

"Good night, Yazoo. Remember to lock up," reminded Kadaj.

"Okay. Good night."

Yazoo carried the plastic bags and deposited them neatly into the garbage bin outside. Turning around, he received a slight shock to see Reno emerging from the shadows.

"Oh, it's you. The bar's closed already so – hey!"

Reno had crossed the distance between them in three long strides and pushed Yazoo against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?" yelled the silver-haired youth. Reno was clutching his shoulders tightly.

"Just what is wrong with…" he trailed off as Reno raised his eyes level with his.

The intensity in the Turk's gaze was so unnatural, it frightened him slightly. He wondered if Reno had been drinking but dismissed the thought quickly. His eyes were clear and penetrating, not a trace of drunkenness in them. Yazoo suppressed a shudder.

Reno jerked him close and crushed his lips against his. It was happening all over again, just like the time in the hallway. He couldn't move; it was as if his willpower was robbed from him. Then, regaining his breath, Yazoo struggled in Reno's hold. But the redhead bit his lower lip and he gasped from the sudden sting. Wrong move. Reno's tongue intruded the cavern of his mouth as he kissed him almost forcefully. In spite of himself, Yazoo moaned into the kiss, feeling the strength leave his body. His legs felt as though they might give out on him; impulsively, he grabbed the front of Reno's shirt to hold himself up.

With a great deal of effort, though a part of him protested, Yazoo pulled away from the kiss. He gasped for the cold night air, and heard the heavy breathing of the redhead. He said nothing, not trusting his voice after the breathless moment.

"This is all your fault."

Reno was staring at him again with those intense eyes. Suddenly, Yazoo felt a surge of anger.

"My fault? _You_ started this!" growled the silver-haired youth.

"_Me?_ You seduced me!" retorted Reno. Yazoo fumed. Now he was being plain ridiculous!

"Before you came along, I was just fine! I didn't have all these troubles, this – this feeling! And then, you had to pull that stunt back at the hallway!"

"What? As I recall it, you were the one who kissed me!" Yazoo tried to push him away but Reno held him in place. Frustrated, he burst out. "Just what is your problem?"

"You, dammit! You don't know yourself, do you? You're too damn beautiful for your own good."

Yazoo stared at Reno, dumbfounded.

"At first I thought it was just a passing fancy, but I couldn't get rid of this feeling. I can't stop thinking about you," Reno's grip on his shoulder tightened, a pained expression on his face. "I can't bear to see other people being close to you. Every time I'm near you, it's like you're tempting me and I feel like I'm going to lose control."

"God, I _want_ you! I want you so badly it hurts! I – I think, I love you." confessed the redhead. Reno bit his lower lip, the pain he was feeling almost too much to bear.

He had to drown out the pain, or he might die. He kissed Yazoo again, embracing him desperately. He didn't care if the youth might kill him later, didn't care that he might reject him. All he wanted now was for the pain to go away, to taste Yazoo, to feel him in his arms.

Yazoo's mind was reeling from the strong emotions emanating from the Turk. The kiss and the embrace aroused an equally strong emotion in him and it was telling him to give in to the warmth. Wrapping his arms around Reno's waist, Yazoo returned the kiss just as passionately.

The pain was disappearing, and the warmth was growing. When they parted for oxygen, cheeks flushed, Reno could feel a tentative spark of hope flicker inside him. For a long time they merely stared at each other.

"So…does this mean…" asked the redhead. Yazoo averted his eyes and mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?"

"I said yes, idiot! I admit I like you as well!" Yazoo felt the heat crawl up his cheeks.

Reno broke into a grin. Ignoring Yazoo's protests, he hugged him, burying his face in the soft hair.

"You know, you're _absolutely_ cute when you blush." Reno commented cheekily.

"Oh, shut up!"

* * *

A/N: Finally! I think we've all been waiting for Yazoo and Reno to get over their denial and smooch already! Personally, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I was considering whether to make Reno his usual clowning self, but I thought it might be more appealing to make him a little more serious and aggressive. Mind you, I think it worked better at getting his feelings through to Yazoo! Some of you might think Tifa x Loz came as an absolute surprise, but this is exactly how the other characters feel. I hope I've managed to express it well.

Ah, I apologise to those who are waiting for the Cloud x Kadaj, their relationship is more complex, so I'll need it to develop it further before I can write a scene like this for them. Sorry…T.T On the other hand, I hope that I am able to make you appreciate their emotional struggles. Please review, as I welcome critiques and opinions! Thank you!


	9. Visions

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

_

* * *

_

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Nine: Visions**

Yazoo had stressed to Reno that their relationship remained private until they, or rather he, had adjusted to this odd status. But seriously, must the redhead try to molest him at every opportune moment? Sure, he liked the shows of affection; it made him feel needed and well-loved, but it was kind of embarrassing when he pulled such stunts in public. It took a good deal of skill on Yazoo's part to hide his surprise and he chided Reno constantly. You could never count on Reno to keep secrets, and Yazoo suspected that Reno didn't exactly intend to keep their relationship a secret.

As it happened, Reno was hanging out in the kitchen watching Yazoo wash the dishes when he was gripped by another one of those impulses to kiss his lover. And as it happened, Loz and Kadaj chose to walk into the kitchen at that particular moment to get something from the refrigerator. Yazoo refused to recall whatever that happened next, because it was painfully embarrassing. Yazoo's chagrin didn't end there as his brothers decided that he needed reminding every hour or so for the next few days.

The news had struck Cloud as a total surprise, but Tifa took in Yazoo and Reno's latest development with a huff and said, "It's about time!" Obviously, his childhood friend knew something was going on beforehand. Cloud wondered if all females were this observant, or it was just Tifa in particular.

* * *

"Kadaj, are you all right?"

The silver-haired boy looked up from whatever work he was doing, and Tifa saw that he was paler than usual.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good."

Kadaj wanted to reply that he was fine, but his head was hurting, and he felt slightly nauseous.

"I don't _feel_ so good…" he admitted.

A twinge of concern flashed across Tifa's face. She brought a hand up to his forehead. It was slightly warm.

"I think you have a fever. Come on, I'll get you some medicine and then you should take a rest."

Kadaj could only nod slowly.

* * *

Cloud leaned back on his arms, head tilted upwards to catch the little glittering lights up in the sky. There was always something serene about sitting up here, on the roof, so close to the stars. And in the quiet, he was truly in touch with his thoughts and his feelings.

His feelings…Cloud had never been so aware of the turmoil inside of him, and the centre of it all. Just then, his peace was mildly disrupted by another presence on the roof. Smoothing down her skirt, Tifa sat down beside Cloud without words.

The martial artist didn't need to be able to read minds to know what Cloud was thinking about; after all, she'd known him since childhood. What she needed to know was whether he had come to terms with his problem.

"They've changed so much." Tifa said softly. The blond simply nodded, knowing whom she was referring to.

"So have you."

Cloud looked questioningly at Tifa. The look she gave him told him that she knew who he was thinking about. Cloud was again struck by how perceptive Tifa really was.

"I've seen the way you look at him," said Tifa carefully. "And it reminded me of the way you used to look at her."

Cloud winced mentally. It was a confirmation, but a part of him objected to the thought.

"You couldn't accept that. Is it because of who he is?" Tifa probed gently.

_No, it's not that._

"Or because of what he had done?"

_It's the pain…this pain in my chest…_

"Or is it because it's you?"

Silence, so deafening, and acknowledgement.

"If the two feelings are the same," whispered the blond uncertainly. "Then why is it that I can feel this pain?"

_It hurts so much that it's comforting…_

"Why is it that I can't stay away from him?"

_Sweet…_

"Why is it that I can't bear being too near him?"

_Sublime…_

It was so different, the pain. With her absence, he had been hollow, empty as though some part of him was missing. He was numb, in some way. But with him…

_So beautiful…this aching feeling…_

"Why am I hurting?" His voice, barely a whisper, admitting to himself rather than anyone else.

"It's because you're still holding on to her," said Tifa. "You loved her, you still do. But you're not letting her go, and now _he's_ here…you have to learn to let go, because…"

Tifa knew how much it will hurt the blond to say this, but it was necessary. "Aerith is the past, Kadaj is the present. Don't punish yourself, Cloud."

"I know. I know that but…" Cloud bit down on his lower lip. "I need time…"

Tifa didn't pursue it further. She understood that he was facing an emotional conflict and decided that he needed to think this through for himself. Just then, Loz popped his head through the window, face anxious.

* * *

Kadaj's condition had deteriorated significantly since this morning. He was deathly pale with flushed cheeks, sweat covering his body, and his breaths were coming out harshly. Tifa placed a hand on his forehead and drew it back in alarm.

"His body temperature's too high! We need to bring it down! Fill the tub with water." She ordered Loz.

"What are you going to do?" asked Yazoo. Tifa's serious attitude made him all more fearful.

"He has to be submerged into water. At this rate, the fever will kill him."

They worked quickly, letting the brothers undress Kadaj and lower him into the tub. Kadaj whimpered and flinched visibly as his skin made contact with the freezing water.

"Yazoo…"

"Ssh, you'll be okay. Just…bear it for a while, okay?" Yazoo comforted his younger brother as best he could.

The few minutes Kadaj spent shivering in the tub seemed like an eternity, but Tifa came in at last, and told them to dry him off. They helped him dress, since Kadaj was still numb from the cold. Then, they helped him back to bed, where he was tucked under layers of thick blankets.

"I sent Cloud out to get the medication." Tifa stated, implying that they would have to wait.

Yazoo was trembling. Life had been so smooth that he had almost forgotten just how close Kadaj's mortality really was. With a jolt, he realised that in the past few months, they had been living, really living, and the thought hit him so hard he had to struggle for breath. If Kadaj were to be wrenched from the life they were so accustomed to now…it was a terrifying notion, and it shattered the sense of peace Yazoo had been experiencing. He felt so vulnerable, so helpless. He wished Reno were here.

Quick footsteps indicated Cloud's return and he entered the room quietly with a package in his hand. Tifa tore it open and took out a syringe and some alcohol swipes. Yazoo and Loz stiffened at the sight of the unfamiliar object. Cloud and Tifa approached the bed.

"Kadaj, this is going to sting a little, okay?" said Tifa gently. She knew that if he hadn't seen a syringe before, he might panic if she tried to stick it into him without warning him first.

Kadaj only nodded as Cloud rolled back his sleeve. He looked like a frightened child, emerald eyes wide and glittering. On an impulse, Cloud took his other hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Kadaj squeezed back without thinking. Tifa found a blood vessel and rubbed an alcohol swipe on that spot, glancing at Kadaj. The boy took a deep breath, and Tifa applied the shot. Cloud felt Kadaj's grip tighten when the needle penetrated his skin. He noticed that Kadaj was looking away from the syringe pointedly.

It was over before he could dwell on the pain, and Kadaj relaxed. Tifa smiled at him.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it? The medicine I just injected into you is going to make you drowsy, so I suggest that you go to sleep."

Yazoo and Loz assured Tifa and Cloud that they could manage now, and that they too should go to bed. Both of them did not mention their fear that Kadaj's fever might have something to do with him being Jenova's genetic thoughts, in which case, nothing they did would help. The worry they shared was the same, and the knowledge that Kadaj was just living on borrowed time was hanging over them like a dark cloud.

* * *

_He was standing in the middle of a flower field, his surroundings too bright for him to see where he was. Cloud looked around slowly, recognising this place. He had seen it so many times in his dreams. _

"_Why?"_

_Suddenly, the flowers were wilting before his eyes, and he heard someone calling to him faintly. He wheeled around, but he couldn't see Aerith anywhere._

"…_oud…"_

"_Aerith?" The words were coming in bursts of soft sounds._

"…_anger…danger…"_

_Cloud frowned in confusion, his surroundings were dimming._

"…_Life…eam…find…iroth…"_

_Cloud strained his ears to catch the words._

"_Danger…Lifestream…find Sephiroth…"_

_And then the world was plunged into darkness._

Cloud woke up with a jolt. Was that a dream? Aerith was warning him of danger, and she mentioned Sephiroth. How could Sephiroth pose as a danger? He was dead!

'He managed to come back once…' Cloud shook his head. This couldn't possibly happen, could it? A sense of dread seeped into Cloud, and suddenly he was cold with terrible premonition.

* * *

Vincent had been dozing lightly beside Sephiroth when his lover suddenly sat up in bed. He was breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" asked the concerned gunman, sitting up and laying a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder.

The former general turned to meet Vincent's ruby eyes, a grim look on his face.

"I need to meet my brothers." Vincent heard the urgency in his voice, and he nodded.

* * *

A/N: Major swing of mood in this chapter. Cloud is facing some sort of internal struggle, which hopefully, will be resolved in later chapters. Poor Kadaj had a relapse. I know that I probably exaggerated the bit about the fever. I was holding my breath when I wrote about the injection. Personally, I'm not afraid of needles, but I tried to identify with Kadaj's fear since it's his first time getting a jab. Sephiroth and Vincent made an appearance towards the end! Going for the cryptic effect, hopefully the suspense is there. Please review! Thank you! 


	10. Time

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Time**

Time…an entity that is ever moving, ageless yet the oldest to ever exist. Never stopping, never waiting, once lost, unredeemable. Time is without mercy, stretching to an eternity but will come to an end. Time heals all and destroys all. Time…is what they are fighting for, and what they are fighting against.

* * *

"_Find Sephiroth…"_

Cloud closed his eyes in a frown.

'I don't understand, Aerith… Why him? Why now?'

His mind was in a state of confusion and his heart uneasy. The dream vision gnawed at him, anxious, restless, vivid. It did not once cross his mind that the dream was just that, a dream. Because dreams were a form of reality to someone like Cloud.

A soft knock on the door distracted him from those thoughts. Tifa stood at the doorway, a concerned look upon her face.

"How's he?" asked the blond quietly. Tifa shook her head.

"The fever's gone down a bit, but he doesn't seem to be improving by much."

Cloud looked distantly at nothing in particular, jaw set tensely. There were so many things he had to deal with right now, so many things he needed to confirm.

"Tifa?"

Both of them looked up and found Loz. He glanced uncertainly between the two, wondering if he had walked in on something private.

"What's wrong?" asked Tifa, hoping it was not about Kadaj. Loz hesitated. Tifa got up and exited the room with him.

Once outside, Tifa looked at Loz questioningly. The young man seemed to be in distress, and for good reason.

"Kadaj's fever…it's not any ordinary fever, is it?"

"I don't know, Loz. I really don't know." Tifa dared not put anything into absolute. "Is he having the old symptoms?"

Loz shrugged, "He's not having nightmares, if that's what you mean. Not yet, anyhow."

He leaned heavily against the wall. Tifa noticed that his eyes seemed a little sunken.

"Didn't you get any sleep last night?" Loz shook his head.

"Yazoo and I were supposed to take turns to watch Kadaj, but we were too worried to actually sleep." Loz mused, "I'm kind of worried about Yazoo, too. Kadaj's regression seems to have jolted him quite a bit. He's been very quiet."

"I guess it must have been hard for him. After months of quiet living, something like this happens. He must be feeling insecure right now."

Loz raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment. "Wow, you sounded like you really cared about him. I guess you don't hate him that much."

"Hey!" cried Tifa as she punched Loz lightly on the arm. Loz laughed and pulled Tifa into an embrace.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be all right." Tifa assured. Loz only nodded.

* * *

Sephiroth sat in a corner seat, diverting all his attention to a particular speck on the wall beside him. The speck, however, was not enough to block out the whispers coming from the other end of the cabin. Even though Sephiroth was a master of masking his emotions, he still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

Boarding this airship had been a bad idea, and the person who suggested it was seated across him, staring unblinkingly at him. Fifteen minutes ago, Yuffie had been complaining about her stomach doing somersaults and tangling her intestines into knots, retching helplessly and groaning pitifully. However, after getting an ice pack on her head (and being told that if she kept her mouth shut she'd be less likely to throw up), she decided to use the time to try to identify every pore on his face. Since then, those large, curious eyes had never left Sephiroth.

* * *

_**Four hours ago**:_

"How do you plan to get to Midgar? It'll take us days to walk there, and days to locate them."

"I'll see if there's any vehicle we can borrow, Sephiroth." Vincent headed for the door. "I won't be long."

Half an hour later, Vincent trudged home a disappointed man. There weren't very many people in this small town, and it appeared that none of them owned anything remotely like transportation. The only thing that moved in and out of town was a truck that sent in goods to the local grocers, and the truck only came once a week. Any chance of hitching a ride on that truck quickly evaporated when he discovered that they missed it yesterday. Standing at the doorstep, he heaved a great sigh.

"Vinnie!"

Vincent turned around and was attacked by a green blur before he could see it. Crashing through the door, Vincent took a moment to regain his breath and clear his spinning vision.

"Yu-Yuffie?"

"Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinnie! I missed you!"

"Yuffie, what in the world are you doing here?" asked the winded gunman.

"Vincent, what's wrong? I heard a crash…"

Both Yuffie and Vincent turned to look at Sephiroth staring at them from the top of the staircase. Their reactions were fairly predictable.

"What is he doing here?" Yuffie sprang to her feet, drawing her shuriken in the process. Just as quickly, Vincent held onto the young shinobi's shoulders to stop her.

"Wait, Yuffie!"

"Are you here to hurt Vinnie?" demanded the Wutaian. Sephiroth's guard rose.

"It's okay. Sephiroth's with me."

Yuffie nearly twisted her neck to look at Vincent.

"_What?_"

"He's living with me here." Vincent dared not relax his hold on Yuffie.

Yuffie's eyes were bulging. "You're living with the scary general?"

The term caught Sephiroth's attention and he almost raised an eyebrow in amusement, but this was not the time.

After some persuasion on Yuffie's side, the three of them were seated at the dining table. Vincent prudently set the Wutaian and Sephiroth apart. The gunman did all the talking, since his lover was too busy being wary. Sephiroth once again had on the expression of cold indifference, and that upset Vincent quite a bit. So it was with a bit of impatience when Vincent explained why he and Sephiroth were staying together, leaving out the special status of their relationship.

Throughout the whole conversation, Yuffie punctuated it with a good deal of shocked staring and an occasional "But…" Once he was done, Yuffie was still looking at Sephiroth with caution in her eyes, but anyone who was Vincent's friend demanded her respect.

"Fine!" she pouted, holding out a hand to the former general. They shook hands stiffly.

Vincent felt a twinge of relief.

"Okay, Vinnie. Back to what I wanted to ask, why were you being so gloomy this morning? I mean, you've always been gloomy but you're extra gloomy just now."

Vincent recounted to her their problem of getting to Midgar and Yuffie waved it aside.

"Oh, if you're really in a hurry, I can call for Cid to bring us there."

Vincent frowned, "Yuffie, I don't think it's such a good idea. Cid is harder to convince than you."

"Don't worry 'bout it! Leave it to me!" beamed Yuffie with a cheeky grin. Vincent looked at Sephiroth questioningly. Somehow, he had a feeling that this was not going to turn out very well.

"Your Wutaian friend changed her attitude rather quickly, didn't she?"

"Yuffie means no harm." Vincent actually agreed with Sephiroth, but he chose to trust his friends rather than dwell on unfounded suspicion.

About two hours later, Cid arrived at their doorstep. His reaction when he saw Sephiroth was perhaps even more exaggerated than Yuffie's. The shinobi pulled him aside and for a while, they were in an argument that involved a lot of cursing, yelling and ultimately, Yuffie bashing Cid over the head. Vincent and Sephiroth watched the exchange with slightly stunned expression as Cid finally gave in to the smaller girl.

"Well," said the man gruffly. "If those kids could turn for the better, maybe you could too, eh?"

"Those kids?" asked Vincent.

"Kadaj and the others, who else?"

"You know where my brothers are?" Sephiroth finally said something.

"'Course I do! Fine, I'll give you a ride, but I'm charging you extra for this, Vincent! I'm on tight schedule, ya know? Ow!"

Yuffie had promptly bashed Cid on the head again.

* * *

'So that's why they accepted me readily.'

Sephiroth wasn't expecting them to be so trusting, but Kadaj's transformation justified it. It didn't stop Sephiroth from being cautious though. Letting his mind drift, Sephiroth thought about meeting Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz. In a way, he was their older brother and it was somehow strange to realise that he had relatives, sort of.

Vincent entered the cabin and handed him a glass of water.

"Are you okay?"

Sephiroth nodded. "You should be worrying about her." He indicated towards Yuffie, who had taken to lying on the seats.

"Yuffie will be fine. She gets airsick every time. Are you really okay? I understand if you're uncomfortable in their presence. Maybe we shouldn't have come aboard."

"Vincent, they're your friends, right? Maybe I'm a little uncomfortable but I'll try to get used to it. I don't want you to compromise yourself for my sake." Sephiroth whispered, "Besides, I'm more worried about the moment we land."

Both men were quiet. Cid had told them when they boarded the airship that Kadaj and the others were living with Cloud and Tifa. Vincent was worried. Yuffie and Cid had been easy, but Cloud harboured a great distrust, if not outright hatred, for Sephiroth.

"Do you want to go back then?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "I can't, this is too important. Just let me handle this myself, okay?"

"I'll be with you," Vincent resisted the urge to kiss Sephiroth. "All the way."

* * *

The sky bore an ominous air as thick, heavy clouds cast the land below them into darkness. Tifa looked out worriedly, anxiety gnawing at her heart just as the chill gnawed at her skin. She shut the window and headed into the kitchen to immerse herself in the usual washing. It was as if the routine gave her some form of comfort, a reassurance of things unchanged.

Upstairs, Yazoo was sitting beside the window, watching Kadaj sleep. A soft knock on the door made him avert his gaze in time to see Loz enter the room. He had brought Yazoo a mug of hot coffee. The long-haired youth hadn't left Kadaj's side at all.

"Thanks…" muttered Yazoo as he took the mug. Sipping the coffee, he was grateful for the warmth.

"How's he doing?"

"Okay. Other than the occasional twitching, he's been sleeping rather peacefully."

In the next room, Cloud was standing at the window, staring out into the distance. Everything around him felt sluggish, as though time was just trickling by in some anticipation. As though something was about to happen… Just then, his blue eyes caught a form in the clouds. Wordlessly, Cloud headed downstairs, stopping to gather his sword. He had a feeling that he might want it near him.

* * *

It was Cid's airship, the Sierra. But that was not what made Cloud stand frozen on the spot. It was the man who had just alighted from the craft. In regal black, silver hair whipping sharply in the wind, Sephiroth was almost exactly as Cloud remembered him. Almost, because Sephiroth was not carrying Masamune with him and there was an unreadable expression on his calm face.

Questions and outrage whirled in Cloud's mind. Why did Cid bring him here? Why was Vincent standing behind him with worry on his features? Why was Sephiroth even here? Aerith's warning flashed through his mind. Cloud tightened his grip on his weapon.

"Why are you here?" Deathly quiet, too calm a voice…

"I'm here to see them." He was sure the blond understood. Tifa had come out now.

"Lifestream's corruption…have you anything to do with it?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not."

Anger, a flash of red. Body reacting faster than thought, Cloud attacked.

* * *

A/N: Phew! That was quite a chapter to work on. The part with Yuffie and Cid was totally random, absolutely. But I picked them 'cause they're more versatile than other characters. They would believe Sephiroth after seeing Kadaj and the others, others might react like Cloud. Cliffhanger…next chapter should be more interesting to write. Mood swings from solemn to light-hearted to solemn again… Hope it's all right, though I personally think something is missing. Hehe, sorry for the late update. I'm about to enter college, so there are lots of preparations to make. Plus my computer died on me last week. Reviews are much appreciated!

PS: To MyraHellsing, don't worry! I'm determined to see this fic through! I might update less often now that I have to go back to studies but I'll make it point to update as soon as opportunity presents itself. Also, to all the anonymous reviewers whom I did not reply to, know that I appreciate each and every review that you have made. I might not be able thank you personally, but your reviews are always a delight, and they contribute to helping me write better. Thank you so much!


	11. Trust

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

* * *

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

* * *

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Eleven: Trust**

It was with a mix of anxiousness and open admiration as Vincent, Tifa and the others watched Cloud take the first lunge. Sephiroth sidestepped his attack with ease. Cloud tried again by swinging his sword horizontally. Again, Sephiroth simply stepped back. It was the same for the next few attacks.

His unwillingness to fight back seemed to mock the blond, as though indicating to him that he was not worth the need to raise arms against him. Incensed, Cloud's strokes grew more furious. Sephiroth carefully parried and avoided his attacks, all the while his emerald eyes never leaving Cloud's face. Everyone could only watch in rapture. There had always been a beauty in the way those two fought; Cloud with his agile, sharp movements and Sephiroth with an effortless grace which only he could possess. Even Yazoo and Loz were pulled away from Kadaj's sleeping side as they too, made their way out to witness the battle between Cloud and the somehow familiar silver-haired man.

Vincent clenched his fists, battling the urge to step in and stop the two. Sephiroth had said to leave things to him, and he should trust the former general. However, he knew Cloud's strength was something one could not make light of, and knew also, deep inside that Sephiroth was not planning to retaliate. Of course, he was sure that Sephiroth will not allow himself to be hurt, but avoiding and defending continuously would only guarantee a lost war.

In truth, no one could stop the fight between the two. It was not so much as their capabilities as their resolve to settle things between them. This was no longer something they could participate in, something entirely between Cloud and Sephiroth. There was no telling what could happen. The possibility of fatalities was very real; one of them could lose his life in this battle. Yet, every action they had taken now was upon conscious choice to reach a purpose, one that was only known to them.

As though to mark the graveness of the situation, the dark clouds hovering above them groaned, shuddered and at last, broke to unleash the full weight of their contents upon the land below them. However, not even the rain could halt the two fighters; the merciless cold could not turn the spectators away. In the blur of rain, only the shadows of their movements could be seen. It could last forever.

It took a mistake on Sephiroth's side to bring the battle to an end. While avoiding a wide slice, he slipped backwards. Cursing his carelessness, he felt his back hit a wall of one of the buildings. He looked on steadily as Cloud's blade grew closer, knowing that he might not evade in time.

Vincent made to move towards his lover as Cloud brought the sword down. Everyone froze and Yuffie gasped. Vincent's heart almost stopped.

The huge blade that could have cleaved the former general into two was buried in the wall inches away from his head. For a while, everyone was puzzled. Could the young swordsman have missed? No, that was hardly possible! And yet none saw Sephiroth evade!

"Cloud, don't…"

The small crowd turned together at the sound of the voice to see young Kadaj leaning on the doorframe. With visible effort, the boy staggered slowly towards Cloud and Sephiroth.

"Don't do it, Cloud…" Kadaj's voice was hardly above a whisper but it sounded so clear despite the rain.

Sephiroth was looking intently at Kadaj and Cloud. There was an expression he had never seen before on the ex-SOLDIER's face. He seemed to be in some sort of intense internal struggle. Sephiroth was very aware that Cloud could have killed him. But just before the blade struck him, he had detected a sudden change in those sapphire eyes and the sword had veered off its course at the last possible minute.

Short of a few feet from them, Kadaj's figure suddenly swayed.

"Kadaj!" cried Yazoo as his brother lurched forward without warning. But Kadaj never hit the ground. Instead, the boy fell into Cloud's arms; the blond had moved quickly to catch him. Immediately, Yazoo, Loz and Tifa rushed towards them.

"Kadaj!"

"Cloud, bring him back inside, now!" ordered Tifa. Cloud nodded and carried the smaller figure in.

"All of you, inside." The martial artist said curtly before hurrying in after Cloud. No one felt like disobeying her then, so they moved out of the rain, into the warmer building of Seventh Heaven.

* * *

Back inside, Tifa appointed Loz to handle things downstairs, since Yazoo was more or less paralysed with worry. After that, she headed upstairs, where Cloud had disappeared to a little while before. Loz and Yuffie distributed towels to the others and for some time, everyone put their entire concentration into drying themselves. There was a long silence until finally, unable to bear it, Yuffie asked Loz.

"Do you think Kadaj will be okay?"

"Yeah, Tifa'll do something." Loz gave her a strained smile. Yazoo, on the other hand, looked absolutely distressed. Worried, Loz whispered something into Yuffie's ear. The Wutaian girl nodded and scampered off.

Meanwhile, Vincent sat in a corner with Sephiroth. The silver-haired man had become rather subdued and there was a small frown on his face. The gunman knew that he was worrying for Kadaj, who was, in a strange sense, his brother. He gave Sephiroth's hand a small squeeze. The younger man only gave him a wry smile.

After what seemed like forever, Tifa came downstairs. She bore an expression of helpless despondency.

"How's he?" asked Loz in a hoarse whisper, as though afraid that something terrible would happen if he spoke any louder.

"His condition has gotten very bad. I…I don't think he'll last the night." Tifa took a deep shuddering breath to calm herself, but tears escaped.

The martial artist's quiet announcement left a dead, heavy silence as everyone else tried to absorb the impact of her words. Very suddenly, the door to the bar was flung open and Reno barged in, wet and panting. He had barely regained his breath when a silver blur tackled him.

"What's wrong?" asked the alarmed redhead. Yazoo only buried his face in his neck and clutched at him tighter. Reno was about to inquire further when he caught sight of Sephiroth in the corner. He breathed in sharply and held the youth closer.

Sephiroth, however, was not in the least perturbed by Reno's reaction. Instead, he seemed to be preoccupied with something, for his face went blank.

* * *

_He could not recognise his surroundings but the green light had a calming effect. It felt familiar, like he belonged, like he was safe…like a child returned to his mother. Sephiroth floated about for a while, wondering where he was. Suddenly, he caught sight of a far away figure, but this figure had its back to the light, so he couldn't see its face. _

"_Sephiroth…" The voice was gentle, full of love and somehow, familiar._

_The former general stared stunned at the distance shape. The voice was undoubtedly a woman's, but who would called him so tenderly? Who could it be but… Sephiroth almost gasped._

"…_Mother?" _

_The figure approached and embraced him gently, calling his name once again. Sephiroth sank into the contact, feeling an overwhelming sort of warmth. He couldn't see her face, but it felt like his mother…like Lucrecia. _

_No words were exchanged. He just wanted to bask in this warmth as long as possible, but a small thought nudged him from the back of his mind._

"_Mother, Kadaj is…"_

"_Yes, I know…" Lucrecia's voice sounded so sad. "That's why I came…"_

_The warmth ebbed and the figure of Lucrecia held out her hand. A dark, round object the size of a small egg laid there. Sephiroth backed up reflexively, staring horrified at the object. An onslaught of memories besieged him, the flurry of images making him sick._

_At last, he managed to choke out, "Black Materia…"_

"_Yes."_

"_The-The thing I tried to use to…" he trailed off, unable to take his eyes off the item._

"_Shh…it doesn't matter anymore." Pressing Black Materia into his hands, she whispered urgently, "What's important now is that we save Kadaj."_

* * *

"Sephiroth, Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth blinked, trying to focus his sight. Vincent was shaking his shoulders slightly. He realised he was lying down and tried to sit up. Vincent breathed out in relief, while everyone else was watching him.

"You gave us a scare when you blacked out just now!" exclaimed Yuffie.

"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well somewhere?" asked a concerned Vincent. He noticed that Sephiroth was gripping something very tightly in his hand, and his face was set in a grim expression. He looked at the gunman right in the eye.

"I know how to save Kadaj."

* * *

Looking down at the silver-haired boy lying on the bed, Cloud felt all too acutely a sharp pang of pain and longing. Kadaj's skin had lost every trace of colour; it seemed to Cloud that he was dissolving into the sheets, lying so still. The barely noticeable rise and fall of his chest was the one thing that told Cloud he was still breathing. When Tifa had given him a look of despair and shook her head, he knew.

'He's dying…'

Cloud closed his eyes and breathed deeply. It was something very painful for him to admit, because…because…

His train of thoughts broke down. Because of what? Why was it that even now the reason continued to elude him? Or could it be that he wasn't ready, wasn't willing to admit to himself…again, what was it that he wasn't willing to admit?

Slow, hesitating fingers brushed the bangs out of Kadaj's closed eyes. The fingers lined the pale eyebrows, the cheeks, lingering over the lips before returning to tuck stray strands of hair behind his ear. Cloud's hand was trembling; this was innocence so raw it was painful to touch. And yet…there was nothing more he wanted to do than to hold him. The desire was so strong it unnerved him.

Kadaj stirred; Cloud snatched his hand back just as the boy opened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Kadaj shook his head weakly. He tried to sit up. Cloud helped him up and sat down on the bed beside him. They exchanged no words, did not looked at each other. For the first time, Cloud felt uneasy with the silence. Because in that silence was an unspoken acknowledgement that death was at hand. They both knew, and understood, that there was nothing to be done but to spend these last few moments in quiet.

"Sephiroth…" said Kadaj in a quiet voice. "He is…our brother…"

He noticed that Cloud was clenching his fists at the mention of the man's name. Somehow, it pained him.

"Do you hate him that much?"

"He took away a person that I…we all care about."

_A person who claimed my heart…_

"He destroyed dreams of innocent lives…"

_The purity of her gentle soul…_

"Hurt the people important to me…"

_He once took everything from me…_

Cloud pinched his eyes shut, because he could feel the hatred swirling in his eyes. Kadaj watched him closely, very aware of the various emotions emanating from the blond. There was pain and grief and anger, and also a form of emptiness. Although he did not know the name of this person, he understood how precious she must have been to Cloud. However, he couldn't bear for this hatred to continue to run between the two most important people in his life. When understanding had first dawned upon Kadaj, it was so obvious that it surprised him how he could have been so ignorant. He knew now the answers to all his strange little symptoms, but understanding and knowing did not always mean solace. Instead, it brought him a subtle sort of pain. For with this understanding came a troubling acknowledgement.

Kadaj may love Cloud, but there was someone else in Cloud's heart, someone whose presence was eternal and unmovable. He could also sense that Cloud was not yet ready to let go of that presence. What constituted the final blow was that Kadaj could feel no anger, nor envy, nor contempt, but simply chose to accept it and savour the bittersweet feeling of loving someone without being loved in return. But now things had changed. With his death drawing nearer, he felt detached to everything around him, gaining courage from the knowledge that there was only so much time left to appreciate, to savour in this love.

Taking Cloud's hands in his own, Kadaj leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. Cloud felt extreme agony and sweet pleasure at the same time, because in a way, Kadaj was telling him that he had given in to Death; at the same time, he was telling him that he will remain the most cherished person in Kadaj's heart. They were slow in ending the soft kiss, as though exchanging a piece of their souls with each other. When they parted, Kadaj's cheeks were wet with tears and Cloud knew that his heart will die with Kadaj tonight. Because he knew, had always known, that the boy had filled the gap in his injured heart, that unknowingly, he helped Cloud to love again.

_When he goes tonight, this heart will no longer bleed, nor would it feel, nor ever know warmth again…_

"Promise me something…"

Kadaj's grip on Cloud's hands tightened. Cloud nodded slowly.

"Forgive _him_. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but I believe that he's changed. I can see it in his eyes."

_It's hard… _

"He's just like us, Cloud. I want you to give him what you've given us."

_What? What is it?_

"A chance…acceptance…_trust_…"

_Trust…trust him…could I?_

"It is…difficult, but I will try."

Looking into those beautifully, painfully clear eyes he had come to love so much, Cloud sealed his promise with a kiss.

* * *

A/N: ANGST! I admit it. I'm an angst-bitch. Somehow, this chapter turned out kind of long. I actually had more to put in, but thought it best to use it in the next chapter. Sephiroth has a way to save Kadaj, but will it work? Or will it be too late? Cloud has finally realised that he loves Kadaj (Yay!) It was starting to frustrate even me! I hope I've managed to illustrate the struggle Cloud had with himself. I wanted to portray the last scene as something very sad, but still sweet. All pairings represent different sides of love, or the nature of love. I wanted very much to let all of you see these sides and be able to appreciate these different natures. Sorry, that was absolutely unnecessary…but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts. Again, I hope that I've done the chapter justice. Please review or offer critiques if you wish. 


	12. Innocence

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_**FFVIIAC** break_

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Twelve: Innocence**

Death was cruel. So was Cloud's thought as he looked at Kadaj's dozing figure. It would strike you again and again in the same place, inflicting the same hurt…refusing to grant the dying a reprieve from suffering. Kadaj was withering away slowly; at times like this, Cloud wished Death would strike quickly, painlessly.

_He's fading away…and there's nothing I can do about it._

_I don't want this…any of this…_

Cloud held Kadaj's hand; it was so cold, so clammy…so lifeless.

_I want you by my side…_

"Please…" whispered the blond.

A soft knock on the door brought his head up. The door creaked open, and Vincent stepped in. Following closely behind was Sephiroth.

"What are you doing in here?" There was an obvious hint of unwelcome in Cloud's tone.

If Vincent were to describe the atmosphere then, he would say that the air instantly grew thick, and the tension between Cloud and Sephiroth was ice cold. The gunman noticed that Cloud and Kadaj's hands were linked.

"I…may have a way of saving Kadaj."

Doubt rose to Cloud's mind quickly, but a small corner rang with Kadaj's words: _give him what you've given us…_

Did he dare to trust this man? What did he have to prove his innocence but that unnaturally clear gaze? What did he, the killer of so many, understand about death?

"Please, Cloud. Listen to him, even just for a while." Vincent urged.

Cloud turned his focus onto the ebony-haired man. Why was Vincent pleading for Sephiroth? Sapphire eyes met with ruby in silent comprehension, and Cloud understood. So was this what Kadaj meant by change?

"I won't ask for your forgiveness…I do not deserve it. But I want to save Kadaj as much as you do." It was said with firm confidence. No cold, cutting tone, no words of mockery…just a strong wish that his words be considered.

Sephiroth held out his hand. There lying on his open palm, was the last thing Cloud wanted to see.

"Black Materia…" hissed the blond between his teeth, eyes widening slightly. Questions leapt so quickly to his mind Cloud had no time to think about any of them.

"Mother…Lucrecia gave it to me…she said this can save Kadaj, or at least prolong his life until we can find a real…solution."

"How can you be so sure? It could've been another…delusion."

"I have nothing to prove this but…faith…" Those green eyes, they were imploring him.

It was unbearable, the tension between the two. To Cloud, it wasn't as simple as taking Black Materia from Sephiroth…it was a matter of acceptance. The object sitting in on Sephiroth's palm signified his trust, and to accept it was to accept Sephiroth.

_Forgive him…I don't know if I can do it…_

He squeezed Kadaj's hand lightly. No response.

'I would sacrifice everything for you to be safe…everything, even my clarity…'

Cloud reached out for Black Materia.

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

Everything was so quiet it unnerved Reno. Yazoo was silent in his arms; the ordeal had tired him greatly. The monotony of everything cast a heavy drowsiness onto Reno. As the damp, cool air pressed upon him, Reno felt his eyes lids drooping. His surroundings fazed in and out of his focus.

"Loz!"

Tifa's cry jolted Reno out of semi-consciousness. He saw Loz kneeling on all fours, limbs trembling violently as he tried to support himself. Tifa and Yuffie knelt beside him, anxious and distressed. Suddenly, Reno was very aware of Yazoo's quick and shallow breathing.

"Yazoo! What's wrong?"

"Re-Reno…Make it g-go away…" gasped the silver-haired youth.

"What? Make what go away?" Reno clasped the young man closer to his chest; his heart plunged into cold water.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up…" hissed Loz over and over again. Tifa was at a total loss.

"Loz, what is it? Tell me what's wrong."

But the two brothers did not hear them. In their minds, the only voice they could hear was the voice of their fears.

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

_Young Kadaj did not want to part with his warm bed, but his elder brother's insistent calling soon intruded upon his sleepy mind. _

"_Morning Yazoo…" murmured the little boy through a haze of sleepiness._

"_Morning, sleepyhead. Everyone's up already." Yazoo tugged the sheets off the Kadaj, causing the latter to curl up in his bed._

"_Breakfast's waiting downstairs. If you don't hurry, Loz is going to finish everything."_

_The silver-haired boy bounded out of bed and rushed into the bathroom, eliciting a laugh from Yazoo._

"_Morning, Seph! Morning, Loz!" _

_Little Kadaj was happy, unconcerned…this was his life, his family, his warmth._

"_Kadaj…"_

_The boy turned. He thought he had heard someone calling to him. Thinking that he must have mistaken, Kadaj made to turn back._

"_Kadaj…"_

_This time he was certain that someone was calling his name, a woman's voice. He looked at the table where his brothers sat, and slipped out of the door unnoticed. _

"_Hello? Is someone there?"_

"_Kadaj…"_

_The voice seemed to come from the trees on the right side of the road. He took a step towards it._

"_No, Kadaj, come back!"_

_Now there was another voice, and it vibrated as though it came from everywhere around him. Confused, Kadaj stayed where he was._

_The voices pledged him one after another, one begging him to move towards the trees, the other coaxing him back into the house. _

"_Come now, Kadaj. Your brothers would worry." This voice, with its slow, persuasive whisper, reminded him of Sephiroth, Yazoo and Loz. He turned towards the house._

"_No, don't! They're not really there! They're waiting for you to wake up." Kadaj could not understand the strange words, but this voice had a special quality to it. It exuded warmth, gentleness, and love. _

_The voices continued in their contest, until finally, the whisper became a loud screech. Frightened, Kadaj crouched down and covered his ears. The trees loomed, from a mere clump to a dark forest. Voices swam around him; shouts, whispers and cries. But they could not drown out the gentle call brimming with tenderness. _

_Kadaj, not the little boy in the dream, but Kadaj as he is, leapt to his feet and dashed towards to black forest. It seemed to him as though he will never bridge the distance between them. At last, he touched a black trunk, and the voices shrieked._

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

Cloud watched transfixed as the Black Materia sunk into Kadaj's chest. He did not know what miracles this stone of disaster could bring, but it was the only thing capable of saving Kadaj. For a moment, there was a bright glow in the middle of his chest. The light swirled on his chest, the oily blackness trying to envelope a crack of green light. It was as though these two colours were struggling against each other in the orb of light. After what seemed like a long time, the green hue seeped into the black, replacing the darkness with a gentle green glow. Soon after, the glow disappeared altogether.

Cloud scrutinised the young boy before him. At first, he could see nothing, but as the seconds passed, Cloud thought he detected some colour in Kadaj's cheeks. He moved a slightly trembling hand to his wrist, feeling for his pulse. In his own throbbing suspense, he almost couldn't feel it, but there it was; slow, but steady, strengthening. Cloud felt a dizzying wave of relief struck him. Kadaj was growing stronger.

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

Downstairs, Yazoo and Loz had stopped acting strangely, but both were still shaking badly from whatever encounter it was. Yazoo couldn't trust his vocal chords to work right then, so he merely clung tighter to Reno. Disregarding the many eyes around them, Reno kissed Yazoo gently, trying to will the horror to leave the youth.

Meanwhile, Loz was reclining against one of the chairs, breathing shakily. Tifa felt a pang in her heart and took his hand in his. Loz felt a squeeze and looked at her, offering a watery smile. She smiled back, radiating love and warmth through her eyes.

Vincent and Sephiroth descended from the stairs, drawing the attention of all. Yuffie was the first to jump to her feet and approach them.

"How is Kadaj?" She sounded almost squeaky, voice lowered in anticipation.

"He's all right now. Sephiroth's idea worked." Vincent confirmed with a nod.

Yazoo and Loz leapt to their feet, eager to check on their brother. However, Sephiroth held up a hand to stop them.

"Wait. Even if Kadaj is out of danger for now, you two are still vulnerable. You will need to take in a strong Materia. The stronger, the better."

There was a moment's pause as Yazoo and Loz wondered where they could get Materia all of a sudden. Yuffie bit her bottom lip, and then, with a resolute face, took out two of her most prized Materias.

"Here, you can use these."

The two silver-haired brothers looked at her, stunned. Then Loz broke into a smile.

"Thanks, Yuffie. I know how much these mean to you."

"Well, I love Materia, and I hate the idea of having to give it away," her eyes suddenly looked watery. "But I hate it more if any of you are going to die."

She burst into tears, shocking others at the unexpectedness of it all. They gathered round her, chiding her gently for her silliness and smiling at her innocence.

_**FFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIACFFVIIAC**_

A/N: I'm soooooooorrrrrryyyyyy! I know I'm super late, but college has been real busy, plus I had personal business to attend to. It took me a long time to write this chapter since I had to devote a lot of time to write assignment papers instead. sobs Oh, beloved fic, how I missed writing you! XD And thank you to all of you for your support and reviews. uncontrollable tears of joy Kadaj is safe! Thank the heavens, thank Lucrecia, thank Sephy! Hahaha, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon as possible! Thank you!


	13. Revelation

_Disclaimer: Characters in this story are copyrights of Square Enix. They are by no means mine. Only the storyline belongs to me. If by any chance I have used any ideas similar to those of existing authors, please inform me so that I may change the details. If there is no notice, I will take it that usage of the idea is permitted. Thank you._

_Legend_

"…" _conversation_

'…' _thoughts_

_break_

* * *

**Second Chances**

**Chapter Thirteen: Revelation **

The air was filled with unease around the table where Tifa had sat Kadaj and his brothers, including Sephiroth. Cloud was beside the youngest sibling, twining fingers with Kadaj under the table. Vincent sat beside Sephiroth, ready to support his lover whenever needed. Although Sephiroth had saved Kadaj, Cloud still could not totally erase the doubts he had towards that man. The mental wound inflicted by Sephiroth in the past had only just closed, and it required more time for him to fully recover from the terrible encounters. It wasn't easy to simply trust Sephiroth, so he gave the former general a chance, a chance to earn his trust.

Though still slightly weakened, Kadaj's condition had improved by leaps and bounds. He now sat at the table, silent, his eyes inspecting the older in front of him. It was still somewhat unbelievable to him that he was seeing Sephiroth in person. Jenova had tried to make him into this person. Before this he had felt a distant aloofness, even resentment towards this 'Sephiroth'. But now, looking at him, Kadaj couldn't help being in awe. _He_ was their brother.

Slowly, in a painfully formal way, Cloud inquired Sephiroth, "What brought you here initially?"

"There is something very important which I need to tell you, all of you."

Inevitably, Cloud found himself hanging on his words, as did everyone else.

"Jenova is still alive."

A loud gasp issued from Yuffie while Barret boomed a very audible "What?"

"Are you sure?" asked Cloud gravely. The former general nodded, his face as serious as Cloud.

"How do you know this?"

"Wait!" interjected Tifa. "I thought Jenova was dead! That's why Kadaj was withering away, right?"

"It will be a long story. Will you listen to me?" asked Sephiroth.

Cloud nodded his approval. Sephiroth took a deep breath and exhaled. He was ready to recount his strange tale to all of them.

* * *

_All I could remember was a swaying sensation, to and fro, as though I was being cradled. I was supposed to sleep for eternity, enveloped in the darkness of Lifestream. I dreamt…long dreams of memories I never knew I had, dreams of things I had experienced, dreams of what I had wished to experience. I don't know how long I dreamt. Then one day, I had another dream. In this dream, someone told me, again and again, that there was danger. I tried to ignore this dream, because it disturbed me. But the voice pleaded and begged me, telling me that I must stop it; I must return to the land above to warn others. It showed me…visions, I think, of Kadaj and Yazoo and Loz. _

_The voice said to me, "Look! They are your brothers! And they're dying!" And it showed me more visions._

_I fought the voice. I resisted the visions it showed me, trying but failing to block it out, for it seemed to be able to intrude upon my very subconscious mind. What finally conquered me was the vision of Jenova, the wretched creature who deceived me. The voice showed me her, and cried out to me, "She's killing them!" _

_I was enraged. Was it not enough for her to wreak so much destruction through me that she had to take the lives of my brothers? I began to listen and accept what the voice said, and it urged me to warn my brothers. But how was I, a mere dead soul, going to contact them? It was then another voice came to me and told me that they will give me one more chance to live, but just a chance. I would have to fight for my freedom and my life. If I failed, I would never be able to return to Lifestream, nor would I be able to set foot on the physical realm. I would just be a roaming soul. They too were taking a risk, for if I were to break free from Lifestream, I will damage the net of souls that held Lifestream intact. They were willing to take that risk. I agreed._

_The moment I consented I was thrust from the peaceful slumber promised to me. For the first time in perhaps a long time, I felt cold. When I opened my eyes, I only met darkness. My lungs constricted and I knew that I was now a living being, because I needed air. I propelled myself to the surface and lost consciousness after that. When I came to, I could not remember my mission here. I think it was because of the long absence of spirit in flesh, there was a fog in my mind. I couldn't recall anything, except that it was something of utmost importance._

_As time passed, I began to dwell on it less and less. Until one night, the voice visited me in a dream. It told me about how Jenova was sapping Kadaj of his life, how it planned to grow stronger by draining the strength of her three genetic thoughts. The fog was lifted from my mind and I remembered the task entrusted to me. _

* * *

"That was how I found myself here."

A long silence followed Sephiroth's last sentence. The idea was no less than outrageous, but Sephiroth was not one to make light of things such as these. It was difficult to believe, yet it appeared to be the truth.

Cloud's cell phone rang suddenly, shattering the silence. He picked it up to find Tseng on the other line. He sounded quite anxious, a trait unbecoming of the usually calm Turk.

"Cloud, I had the lab run some tests on the water sample you gave me. You won't believe what I found."

Cloud felt the pit of his stomach tighten. 'I think I can.'

"The water is swarming with Jenova's cells! What does this mean?"

"I'll get back to you later. Thanks for the information." Cloud turned back to the small party gathered around him. His frown deepened.

"Looks like you're telling the truth." He told them the results obtained from Tseng.

"I still don't understand something," mused Reno. "What's the link between you and the pollution of Lifestream?"

"It appears that with Sephiroth's breakout from the Lifestream, he caused some kind of crack in the net of souls." Vincent began to explain.

"Jenova is asorbing…something, some form of energy or filth, perhaps, from that crack."

"What 'bout giving them kids those Materias?" shot Barret. He was still eyeing the silver-haired man with suspicion.

"I do not understand myself, but the Materias appeared to have saved them."

Cloud turned to look at Kadaj, who had shifted slightly in his seat. He had a strange look in his eyes.

"I…don't really understand either, but…" A hand came up his chest, resting lightly on the spot where the Black Materia pulsed occasionally. "It's like…like a heart, you know? Like something that flows with energy to give us life." Something that made them feel physically alive.

"So, let me get this straight," said Reno. "Jenova's back, that's confirmed, right?"

Sephiroth and Cloud nodded.

"And she's killing off the three of them so she could live?"

"Theoretically, yes. But by what means, I do not know." Sephiroth admitted.

"Most likely it's because they have her cells." Cloud interjected. "But…"

Cloud frowned. He didn't understand this. If Jenova was indeed draining the life out of beings which contained her cells, then he too would have been affected. Vincent was apparently thinking about the same thing, because he began to speak.

"There is a possibility that we are not affected the same way because we are anchored to flesh. Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz…are not stable physical entities."

"So…" Reno's voice was low. "What will happen to them if Jenova revives completely?"

"We'll disappear…" said Kadaj.

It was an answer that they suspected all too well, an answer they didn't want to hear, but it needed saying. Cloud gave his hand a squeeze, and he turned slightly to look at those brilliantly blue eyes. They spoke of a silent promise to protect him. Reno had reacted by tightening his grip on Yazoo's shoulders.

"Can't we do anything to stop that? I don't want Kadaj and Yazoo and Loz to disappear…" sniffed Yuffie.

"Well, there is only one answer, isn't there?" It was more of a statement than a question, and Cloud directed it to Sephiroth. The former general nodded grimly.

"To kill Jenova."

* * *

A/N: This is an unexpectedly short chapter, even for me. I'm leaving the following parts for the next chapter since it's more appropriate. I can't believe how long it's taken me to update…I'm so sorry! To all the reviewers whom I haven't managed to reply, sorry! Agh, this is what happens when your hostel has no Internet connection. Well, the mystery is finally revealed, and the next step is obvious. But with the risk and danger, will they be able to get through this alive? I sure hope they do! (Despite that I'm the authoress…)

Oh, and an announcement. I'm thinking of selling this fanfiction in a compiled book form. In the book version, there will be a number of changes, minor and major. Plot holes regarding Seph and Vince's relationship will be filled, and modifications will be done to certain parts of the story. I'm also looking to include some fanart by a few artists in the book. I'm seriously thinking about selling the story, so I hope you can offer feedback. Would you prefer to buy one complete compilation or separate installations (about 5 to 6 chapters to a book)? Would you buy it if I'm selling? Your opinion is greatly appreciated! Thanks!


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